


Talking With A Monster

by Roxashadow



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action & Romance, Drama, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-21 10:56:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 197,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20692367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxashadow/pseuds/Roxashadow
Summary: Set in the dark timeline with a more indepth look into the characters and the world.Due to a chance encounter, Android Eighteen is left with a feeling of doubt that leads her to question her and her brother’s way of life. In a desperate search for answers, she finds herself turning to the one man who she never expected to have anything but hatred towards her.Son Gohan.Android 18 x Gohan





	1. Talking With a Monster chapter 1: a Chat

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story set in the mirai Trunks timeline if that wasn’t already obvious. It will mainly be focusing on Android Eighteen and Gohan. I plan to make these two characters my primarily lead with a secondary focus on Seventeen and Trunks with a rare play with Bulma every now and then. Also, I’m not a huge fan of OC characters, and will seldom use them if ever (it will become apparent why I’m saying this very soon). Other than that, I don’t want to give away anything else.  
Anyways, onto the story! (Do I really have to say that I don’t own Dragon Ball? Will anyone think that I own dragonball?)

  
  


South City.

It was a simple place, relatively large with an urban city environment. It’s shopping district was a decent size with a large variety to choose from. The mall overall was generic, but there  _ were  _ a handful of shopping centers that Eighteen found  _ actually _ had good taste. It’d been a surprise, but one that the girl was all too willing to take advantage of.

The blond raised a black top she thought might be cute on her with the appropriate bottom. She paid no attention to the flood of people racing out of the store, their eyes filled with terror as they ran. 

“It’s the monster! Run!” She heard one of them shout. Eighteen frowned as she pulled her gaze away from the V-neck to examine the individual who’d just called her a ‘monster’. A ‘monster’ to her implied a creature of a hideous nature, a  _ disgusting, vile  _ creature who’s very appearance would force those with weak stomachs to belch. She hardly considered herself  _ hideous  _ by any means. Sure, she and her brother were responsible for mass genocide, but that didn’t make her  _ hideous  _ now did it? 

In fact, she figured that she was quite pretty by many standards,  _ especially  _ after she tried on this new top. She doubted a person alive could consider her a ‘ _ monster’ _ once they saw her in it.

Ofcourse, that didn’t mean that they didn’t deserve to die for insulting her. 

Raising a single finger, she aimed it at the fleeing man, a young pale creature with blonde hair, clearly in his twenties. She prepared to fire when she froze, her eyes wide.

The man was running through a section of shoes she was hoping to explore once she was done trying on tops. If she executed him there, she risked splattering the section with his entrails.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief at her close call, waiting until he was in front of the exit before she fired a single beam that tore through his midsection, splitting him in two. She watched with a smile as his face contracted into one of pure agony in his last moments as his blood spilled from his body. A few seconds of feeble crawling later the man collapsed, his face permanently contorted to reflect the pain of his last instances of life.

_ Phew, that was a close one.  _

The woman made a mental note to be more aware of her surroundings the next time she went shopping. She always hated when her brother would ruin a clothing store before she was done shopping, she would never live it down if he found out she’d done the same. 

Eighteen smiled as she draped the shirt over her arm and began to walk patiently towards the dressing rooms, ignoring the sound of explosions off in the distance.

_ Looks like Seventeen has already started. _

She mentally chimed to herself as she entered the dressing room.

She’d been right, the top did look good on her. 

She could hear the rumblings of buildings collapsing nearby, the sounds of screams and people running frantically for their lives as Seventeen continued to play.

She paid little mind to the noise as she studied herself in the mirror. It was a strapless form fitting black top that showed off a little bit of her midriff. She had to admit that it punctuated her cleavage excelently. 

She frowned.

She also had to admit that the top made her look a little slutty too. It was just a bit  _ too  _ revealing for her taste.

She sighed, preparing to remove it before pausing and looking at herself in the mirror a second time.

Smiling, she said to herself. “Oh what the hell, it’s not like I can’t kill anyone who looks at me the wrong way.” She swifty threw on the signature jean jacket she so often wore and looked at herself again.

She looked  _ good _ .

The girl strutted out of the dressing room feeling confident as she began to work her way towards the shoe section she’d spared earlier. She needed some matching heels for this outfit.

“Hey! Eighteen! Come look at this!”

She heard Seventeen’s voice echo out towards her from the entrance where the man she’d savaged lay. 

Eighteen sighed as she turned to look towards her brother, wishing it had taken him a little bit longer for him to find her. Undoubtedly he would want to play some type of game with her, and she  _ really  _ wanted to check out what the footwear section had in her size.

“It’s a  _ dummy _ !” Seventeen laughed as he’d picked up the torso of the man she’d previously killed and pushed his arm up his chest into his throat. Blood coated her brother as he moved the jaw with his hand.

“ _ Whoa mama am I in a pickle!”  _ Seventeen began in a mocking, southern accent, “ _ I was trying to get ready for work when I realized that I had the right  _ ** _top _ ** _ to head out, but absolutely positutely no  _ ** _bottom_ ** _ ! _ ”

Seventeen laughed as he tossed the top half of the man on top of where his legs lay.

Eighteen raised a hand to cover her mouth, stifling a laugh.

The teen casually began to strut in, blood dripping from his arm as he walked towards the selection.

“So sis, what do we got here-”

“Not another step!” Eighteen shouted pointing a dangerous finger in his direction.

The boy shot her a sideways look, “Huh?”

Eighteen fumed, “You are absolutely  _ covered  _ in blood, and the last thing I want is you touching all over the clothes I plan to get.”

Seventeen sighed as he crossed his arms, covering his other forearm in blood. “Whatever sis, c’mon it’s not like we can’t go find another store for you to get all  _ girly  _ in.”

Eighteen frowned, she hated it when Seventeen would call her a girl for caring about how she looked when they went out to rampage. It wasn’t her fault she had  _ taste _ .

Rolling her eyes, she responded. “Yeah but this place actually has a good selection. Something a bunch of those other shops we visited didn’t have.”

Seventeen groaned, his arms drooping at his sides as his head lulled back, “Ugggghhh, please tell me you aren’t going to spend  _ the whole day  _ in here like last time!”

Eighteen snarled, “I didn’t spend the whole day shopping last time!”

“It was like, two whole hours last time! All the people were practically dead by the time you got out!”

“Not my fault you like to race through the humans like they’re not gonna run out at some point! If you’d actually be patient for once and  _ spent your time  _ killing them, rather than just blowing them all up with massive explosions, then you might get more out of it.”

Seventeen brought the bloodied hand to his chin, considering his sister’s words as he adopted a puzzled expression.

“You know what?” He responded quietly, a bright smile pulling at his face. “You’re absolutely right!” He let out a laugh. “Man! I’ve been killing so long, I forgot how to have  _ fun with it _ ! Matter of fact! Why don’t you and I play a game?”

Eighteen frowned as she pulled off a pair of pumps that looked particularly cute to her, “Can’t you see I’m busy? Why don’t you go and play with yourself for awhile?” She smirked to herself at her own joke.

Rolling his eyes Seventeen responded, “Nah sis, it’s  _ waaaay _ less fun if you’re playing by yourself! C’mon! If you play with me just this one little game, I  _ promise  _ that I’ll leave you alone to shop for the  _ whole rest of the day _ .”

Eighteen’s gaze pulled away from a set of sneakers she thought might look good for a workout attire and met Seventeen’s gaze, studying him to see if he was being honest. The teen crossed his heart before pushing out his bottom lip in a pouting motion, bringing his hands together as he mockingly begged to her. She had to admit, spending a day away from his incessant  _ whining  _ about her shopping was an enticing proposal.

“...How long’s the game?” she finally said, setting the sneakers back on the rack and crossing her arms.

“How about this!” The boy eagerly exclaimed, forming a pistol with thumb and index finger. “We pretend we’re cops hunting down the criminal scum of the mall! We have to go store to store searching out each nook and cranny making sure we get each and every one of em!” 

Eighteen sighed as she approached her brother, forming a finger gun of her own.

"Alright, any rules?”

“Yup! First rule! You can’t use anything except your finger gun. If your form a normal blast with your hand, or hit someone, oh, and no flying, if you do any of these things, you lose automatically!”

_ I swear, he can be so childish sometimes, how is it that we’re the same age? _

She thought to herself as he continued. “Also! You have to keep track of your score, and you better be trying! Because when we’ve finished off the mall, If you’re score isn’t close to mine, then our deal is off.”

Eighteen growled at this new rule but complied. “Fine. When do we start?”

“We start riiiiight,” The boy paused, a mischievous grin on his face. “Now!” he shouted as he turned heel and began to dash down the walkway towards the other shops, all the while holding his finger pistol like how a cop would a real gun.

Eighteen shook her head as she turned the opposite direction and started to jog towards a pizza place where she’d seen a teenage girl peak her head out from behind the counter.

_ Let’s get this over with. _

  
  
  
  


_ I’m really beginning to regret my advice. _

Eighteen thought to herself as she  _ finally  _ found the young boy who’d been hiding in a storage closet in the back of a bookstore. She’d seen the little bastard run into here but it’d taken her  _ ten whole minutes  _ to figure out where he’d run off to once inside.

She smiled as she watched the quivering, crying boy collapse to the ground, a golf ball sized hole in his chest. She listened to his choked sobbing for several seconds, a satisfied smile on her face as he choked on his own blood.

A moment later the boy’s last desperate cries for help were silenced as she aimed a finger and forced another beam straight through the boy’s head.

_ Serves him right for taking so long to find. _

She thought to herself as she left the shop and walked over to a store selling what appeared to be workout gear.

_ 57… _

She internally calculated as she stepped into the establishment. She smiled as she heard the quiet squeak of a terror filled sales associate hiding just behind the counter. 

“You know,” She began casually as she made the slow walk towards the counter, the clicking of her heels echoing against the walls of the store. “I probably wouldn’t have found you if you weren’t such a coward and squealed like a dumb  _ pig _ .”

Eighteen’s smile turned sinister as she heard the muffled sound of crying from behind the counter, the sound of someone who knew they were already dead.

The blonde stepped up to the counter, the tip of her index finger began to glow as she aimed down at where she could hear the person behind trembling below, before something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. 

Looking up, she could see a man in his mid to late 50’s sitting calmly in a chair, one leg lifted to rest on his knee, a paperback book in his hand. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t noticed her as he calmly turned the page and continued reading.

Eighteen stared at him for a long time, her expression shocked that someone had  _ failed  _ to notice her.

“... _ Ahem, _ ” She projected as she watched the man, waiting for him to respond to her presence.

Rather than look up and cower in fear as she’d expected, the man raised a finger instead, saying  _ 1 sec. _

_ Did this asshole just tell me to hold on!? _

Eighteen stared in disbelief at this older man as he licked his finger and turned the page a second time. Did he now know what was going on? That was impossible! There was no way he hadn’t heard the screaming and running. The  _ screams  _ that the androids were here. There was even this idiot under the table trembling and probably pissing themselves in terror, there was  _ no way  _ this guy didn’t know what was going on.

_ So why isn’t he scared? _

Eighteen raised an eyebrow as she slowly rounded the counter before positioning herself directly in front of the man. She pushed the glowing finger inches from his head as she awaited a response.

“Are you too stupid or senile to understand that I’m about to kill you right now?” Eighteen asked as the man continued to read.

A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as his eyes scanned the words. 

A moment later, the man closed the paperback with one hand and tossed it to the floor beside him, mumbling to himself.“ What a shame to end on a cliffhanger…”

“Hey dumbass I’m talking to you!” Eighteen roared growing increasingly annoyed that someone was  _ ignoring  _ her. She was used to people recognizing her, trembling in fear at the sight of her and knowing  _ exactly  _ what was about to happen to them upon that recognition. She considered herself something of a  _ celebrity _ ; arguably the most  _ important  _ celebrity in the world besides her brother. She’d built up a reputation over this past decade and a half of destruction and torment, and she wouldn’t accept this level of  _ dismissal _ .

“I’m sorry about that.” The man said shifting his gaze to meet hers. “I wanted to finish the chapter I was on before I died. And also no I’m not senile, and I’m actually not all that old I think. Only 54 years old, although I guess to someone so young that’s probably considered old isn’t it?”

Eighteen blinked, this had not been what she expected. “Do you know who I am?”

The man smiled, “But of course, how couldn’t I? You and your brother are the most known faces on the planet. I know exactly who you are.”

_ Good,  _

She thought to herself, before frowning.

_ But why isn’t he scared? What’s going on here? _

“What are you-”

“Is there something that you love?”

Eighteen blinked a second time, first recognizing that this  _ filth  _ had just interrupted her, and then what he’d just asked her. She continued to hold her finger gun pointed directly at the man’s face.

She wanted to snap and blast this fool away, to kill him for being so  _ ignorant  _ and  _ rude _ . But the situation, the question,  _ this man  _ was so out of the ordinary, so bizarre that she found her words caught in her throat.

“I-...what?” Was all she could stammer out in response. She mentally cursed herself for sounding so  _ dumb  _ in that moment. She wanted the man to  _ fear  _ her, to see her as the mistress of death that she was. Right now she sounded like a child who’d spaced out after being asked what they wanted to order at the front of the line.

“Is there something you love?” The man repeated in the same, calm, peaceful tone.

Eighteen stared down at the older man with furrowed brows studying him curiously. He had a bald head that gleamed from the luminescent lights overhead. A five Oclock shadow and tired, baggy eyes. He seemed like he would be tall if he stood up, his body large and reminiscent of someone who used to be very muscular, but hadn’t touched a weight in years. His stomach was large and bulged out unattractively, overall, he looked like a grandpa.

The blonde smiled as she began to understand what was going on. She’d seen this before. It was rare, but from time to time she and her brother would find people wandering around the desolate wasteland that so often came after one of their ‘play sessions’. They’d appear unresponsive, in a daze that sometimes even left them walking towards them as she and Seventeen would laugh. The two of them had quickly come to the conclusion that sometimes the death and destruction that would come in their wake was too much for some people, and so their minds would break. They would find these people simply wandering around, absent to the world going on around them, unable to understand what was happening anymore.

It was a special treat whenever the twins would find these people as they’d developed a game to see if they could bring them out of their daze before killing them. It involved torturing the individual until they finally came back to reality, like slapping a panicked friend to get them back to their senses.

_ This is going to be fun… _

She thought to herself as she aimed the finger gun downward and immediately fired a shot into the man’s leg. It tore through the limb like it was nothing, forming a hole in his thigh a little larger than a golf club.

Her smile widened as she watched the look of pain develop across his features. His teeth clenched as his hands curled into fists, tightening as he struggled to come to terms with the pain.

Eighteen patiently waited to see if he’d finally come to his senses and would start bawling on the ground, begging for his life like so many had done before.

Instead, much to her amazement, he began to chuckle.

“Well…” He said hunched over in a gruff voice clearly trying to mask the pain. “That was certainly unpleasant.” Leaning back in his chair, the man took a deep breath before smiling and meeting the android’s gaze again. “But unfortunately, it doesn’t answer my question. Unless you’re meaning to say that ‘you love hurting people’-” he shrugged, “Which makes sense.”

Eighteen’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

_ What the hell is happening right now? _

“I-...?” The murderer found herself at a loss for words at that moment. This wasn’t the dazed, mind-broken type she’d initially thought. This was...this was...this was something the girl had never encountered before.

“Maybe that’s too hard a question.” The man shook his head. “That’s my fault. Let me try something a little different: do you have any hobbies?”

Eighteen felt her mouth dry up as she stared down at the man. “What’s going on here?”

“Hm?” he responded looking up innocently at her. She could see the man’s blood beginning to pool at her feet. The wound in his leg was bad.

“Why aren’t you scared. You’re bleeding out right now, don’t you realize that?” She asked pointing a finger at the injury.

The man briefly looked down at the thigh injury before smiling and looking back up. “Oh yes, I’m very aware haha. It’d be hard not to be with how painful it is. But I figure, if I’m going to die, might as well spend my last moments smiling rather than crying scared for my life.”

Eighteen’s lips pulled into a frown.

_ ...I guess that makes sense… _

“So,” He asked casually, putting a hand over the top of the wound and applying pressure. “Any hobbies?”

“...”

Eighteen stared at the man. She didn’t know what to make of him. She’d just attacked him, he was  _ literally dying  _ as they spoke, and he was asking about her  _ hobbies? _ She couldn’t decide if she wanted to blast a shot through his head and get on with her day seeing as Seventeen was undoubtedly pulling ahead of her in this moment, or entertain the dying man and see where this went. 

Something possessed her to choose the latter.

Slowly, she responded, “Why do you care?” She responded coldly, her finger gun still pointed at his face.

“Oh, I just think it’s a question that no one has ever asked you. I’m sure that you get plenty of people asking ‘why’ or ‘will you spare me’ but I doubt there’s too many who’ve asked you what your hobbies are.”

“...I like to pick out outfits…” She slowly admitted staring at him with narrowed eyes.

The man’s face lit up like a person who’d just received a gift. “Ah! That’s excellent! And I can tell that you’re probably really good at it too! I mean, not to be rude but that top really does look good on you.”

Eighteen pulled away, her hands moving to close her jean jacket around her exposed cleavage. 

“Oh no need to blush! I’m just paying you a compliment, besides, I’m going to be dead soon anyway right?”

Eighteen frowned as she realized that she was blushing. 

_ HOW DARE HE MAKE ME BLUSH! I AM A  _ ** _GOD _ ** _ OF  _ ** _DEATH _ ** _ AMONG THESE PEOPLE, THEY ARE MERE PLAYTHINGS TO ME! HE HAS  _ ** _NO RIGHT _ ** _ TO MAKE ME  _ ** _BLUSH!_ **

Snarling, the girl formed a finger gun again and drove a second beam directly into the man’s bicep. Blood ruptured from the wound immediately, spilling even more of the crimson liquid onto the floor.

The room started to collect with the familiar scent of copper.

Eighteen watched with satisfaction as the man grunted in pain, throwing his head back as tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. His one good leg stomped against the tile as his face tightened into one of a deep grimace.

_ There, now he should be getting the picture- _

“I’m...sorry about that...didn’t mean to offend…” Releasing the pressure on his leg, he motioned with a hand for the blonde to step back. “Careful...don’t step in it. Those look expensive…”

Eighteen looked down and realized that the blood was getting dangerously close to her boots. The girl adhered the warning and took a step back.

_ What the hell is happening? _

“You’re confusing old man.” She said crossing her arms. “I shoot you twice and you tell me to  _ watch my boots? _ ”

The man’s voice had grown quieter, clearly an attempt to suppress the pain that slipped through every now and again. “You told me that you like to pick out outfits as a hobby... I’m sure you don’t like your clothes getting messed up…”

She couldn’t say that he was wrong, but she also couldn’t understand this man. All she wanted was for him to cry out in terror, to feebly attempt to crawl away as she slowly and effortlessly tracked him down and killed him in the most painful way possible. It was a  _ game  _ to her, but is wasn’t fun if he didn’t want to play.

“So…” He began, his voice raspy, his head lulled to the side, it was clear to her that the blood loss was beginning to take effect, “This question may sound strange but...were you ever a little girl?”

_ What type of question was that? Of course I was a little girl when she was younger. _

“Of course I was. The blood loss is getting to your head.” She said with a frown.

He chuckled in response, “Yeah, probably...so, when you were a little girl...what did you want to do when you grew up?”

Eighteen’s eyes flashed wide at this question. What did she want to be when she was a little girl? The android found herself staring down at him questioningly.

“Just...humor me.” He said with his best attempt at a smile under the immense amounts of pain.

“I…” she paused, realizing that she couldn’t remember. She found herself exploring the deepest recesses of her mind as she tried to remember what she’d wanted to be as a little girl. Finally, she remembered. 

A brief smile pulled at her lips as she recalled. “I wanted to be a clothes designer.”

The man smiled in turn. “That’s a...nice dream. Did you...ever pursue it?”

She frowned, did it look like there was a line of merchandise with her brand on it? What a stupid question.

“What do you think old man? Look at what’s going on around you, take a good long look and  _ really  _ think about it.”

The dying man let go a soft, weak laugh as he shook his head. “I guess…that’s fair.”

Eighteen frowned as she watched the man continue to bleed out. Her arms were crossed, her back leaning against the counter as she awaited the next question, assuming that there would be another.

“So…” He began slowly, his hands hopelessly pushing at the wounds in his leg and arm. “Why didn’t you?”

She paused, eyeing him for a moment. Why didn’t she? Because that  ** _BASTARD _ ** Gero stole her and her brother away from the life they’d had, experimented on her and turned them into the things they were today.

“I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.” She said with a dismissing sneer.

“Oh…” He frowned, his head was lower now, Eighteen predicted he only had a matter of minutes before he’d pass out. “Could you...try...now?”

She snarled at him, “Yeah! Let’s just see how that goes! Let’s see how many people will buy a product made by someone responsible for literally  _ millions  _ of deaths over the last couple decades. Seriously do you even know what you’re saying at this point? Do you know who you’re talking to?”

He smiled at her, a warm, fatherly smile. “I’m talking to...a beautiful… young woman… who’s telling me… about what she dreamed of being… as a child…”

Eighteen’s frown slowly shifted into a thin line. “...so?” She said turning her head away from him.

“So...you’ll never know...until you try...You could always...create an alias… or something…”

Why was this man trying to help her? In a matter of minutes she was going to  _ literally  _ be the one responsible for his death. This made zero sense to her.

“Why are you trying to help me? Is it so that I won’t have enough time to kill anymore? Because that won’t work!” she snapped.

He slowly shook his head, “I don’t...really care what...happens anymore...I haven’t cared...for a long… long… time…”

“...so what is it then?”

“I…” The man began before beginning to teeter off his chair and collapsing onto the floor, laying sideways. She could see that his eyes were closed having clearly passed out. She snarled at the pool of blood on the floor.

_ He’s dying. _

She frowned as she examined the man. His chest was still rising and falling, but that would change in a matter of minutes if the wounds she’d inflicted were not treated soon. 

For a moment the girl stood still, simply accepting that he was about to die. She considered perhaps raising her finger and blasting away his remains to see what type of design he’d create upon splattering against the wall. Lifting her finger pistol so that it was aiming down the man’s face, his mouth labored as he struggled to take in each and every breath, she prepared to fire.

But hesitated. 

_ ...he wasn’t afraid...even when I attacked him… _

Eighteens finger continued to point at the man, something in her unwilling to fire as her mind played out their interactions.

_ He was reading a book when I entered...he barely raised his head when I walked up to him. He wasn’t even scared. It wasn’t like blondie either, he wasn’t bravely facing us down despite the odds, he’s like all the other magots who know that they are  _ ** _nothing _ ** _ to us but toys for us to play with and break at our will…and then he started talking to me...as if he had  _ ** _any right_ ** _ to speak to me being the lowly little  _ ** _bug _ ** _ that he is. _

Eighteen snarled as she stared at his breaths becoming raspier and more strained. She began to reason to herself that the man was insane, shell shocked as she’d seen so many others before. For a moment that was enough for her, and she prepared to let loose a blast of energy she’d been preparing for what felt like ages now. But once again, that conclusion was defeated by their simple interaction. He hadn’t been shell shocked, he couldn’t have been because he hadn’t even been remotely scared of her. He’d been coherent and sensible, nothing about his demeanor had been anything  _ remotely  _ crazy.

The truth was, he hadn’t been scared, he hadn’t been powerful, and he hadn’t been like anyone she’d ever met before, and most importantly-

_ He didn’t answer my  _ ** _damn question._ **

Turning to look over her shoulder at the still trembling girl beneath the counter, she shouted. “Hey you! Go in the back and grab some towels or something to stop the bleeding, got that!?”

She watched the girl meet her eyes with a wide, terrified gaze remaining motionless like a deer in headlights.

“ ** _Move. Now._ ** ” She said with a danger to her tone as she aimed the finger pistol at the girl, her index glowing with dangerous yellow energy.

Immediately, the cashier leapt to her feet before racing out from behind the cupboard and into the back.

Eighteen eyed the man before her. She didn’t want to save his life of course, but she  _ did  _ want to finish this conversation, wherever it was going.

In a matter of moments, the young cashier came sprinting back with a handful of thick white towels and a large bottle of water. For a moment Eighteen questioned where she got these items before remembering that she was in a shop with a bunch of workout goods.

The girl stood trembling beside Eighteen, offering out the items to the android.

“What? Do you think I’m going to do it? Wrap him up already dumbass!” Eighteen snapped as the young employee.

The girl jumped at the android’s voice as she quickly set to work, pushing the heavy man back onto his seat before tightening the towels around the two wounds the best she could and setting the water bottle in the man’s lap. Eighteen watched as the blood loss began to slow as the white towels turned red. Judging based on the man’s larger size, she figured that he hadn’t lost enough blood for it to be fatal, but it had been enough for him to be properly dazed.

Taking a step back, the girl stood there nervously, covered in blood, shifting her gaze from Eighteen, to the man, and then back again.

Eighteen caught her gaze with her own. “Well? Go back to cowering!” she ordered.

The cashier was quick to comply as she retreated back into the cubby she’d been hiding in before.

Returning her attention back to the man she shouted, “Hey! Old man! Wake up!”

There was no response.

“Old man!”

Nothing.

Growling in frustration Eighteen raised the finger pistol, pointing it at the man’s forehead before firing. The blast was weak, barely visible infact as it contained only enough force to knock the man’s head back.

The man groaned as he slowly raised a hand to his forehead. “...what the…?”

“We weren’t done talking.” Eighteen said in a dangerous tone.

The man paused as he noticed the towels around his wounds and the water bottle sitting in his lap.

“Did...did you do this?” His voice asked as his hands shakily took the water bottle from his lap and began to unscrew the top. 

Snorting, she responded, “Hardly,” motioning with her head, she said, “The girl did.”

There was a moment where the only sound between the two of them was the old man drinking down the bottle in one long gulp.

“Well,” he said once he’d dropped the empty piece of plastic on the floor next to him, “I am certainly grateful to both you and Melody.” He said nodding his head towards the girl still cowering beneath the counter.

“Don’t be,” She snapped, her arms falling into a position beneath her chest. “I still plan to kill you, nothing will change that fact.”

She studied his face as she said this, looking for the slightest inclination that he was even a  _ tiny bit  _ afraid. She found nothing.

“ _ But _ ,” She added with a sneer, clearly annoyed that she was doing this in the first place. “Only once we’re done with our conversation.”

The old man chuckled softly, only serving to annoy Eighteen further for having spared him for even a few minutes longer.

“Well then,” His voice began slowly, the color returning to his face. “What is it that you wanted to talk about again? Forgive me, my memory isn’t what it used to be.”

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” She said as the harshness in her eyes eased, replaced by hints of curiosity. “Why are you doing this? Talking to me, acting like I didn’t just attempt to kill you a minute ago.”

For the first time during their talk, Eighteen watched as the smile slipped from the man’s features. His eyes reflecting a deep sadness as his lips pulled into a subtle frown.

“...I used to be famous, did you know that?” The man said slowly, his words coming out aged and strained. “I used to be a name that almost everyone knew. I was ‘the strongest man in the world’ women would swoon at my sight, hundreds of people would ask for my autograph just on the street, I was rich beyond comprehension...it was a pretty sweet gig.”

Eighteen rolled her eyes, did he honestly believe that  _ this  _ is what she was asking about in her question? The girl prepared to raise a finger to blast away the man when he said something that caused her to stop.

“The fame was nice...engrossing even. It was fun, being this star for the world. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that I was losing those I truly loved from it.”

Eighteen raised an eyebrow as her mind immediately returned to the first question he’d asked her.

_ Is there something that you love? _

“My fame was pushing away the people that I truly cared for. My wife, she left me after she grew tired of my flirtatious advances towards the women who would literally throw themselves at me at times. A short time later, the attacks began, and I lost her...well, at that time I’d already lost her, but I guess I could say that my daughter had lost her.”

A slow sigh escaped his lips. Eighteen’s fingers tapped against her bicep as she patiently awaited for the story to draw back towards her question. 

_ So me and my brother killed his wife, ex-wife, baby mama. So what? _

She sneered at the loss. It was interesting to hear about the struggles of such weak creatures from the inside. She only ever got to see their misery from the outside.

“She blamed me for her death. I never really got the time to talk to her about it. I was too busy burying my namesake into the dirt. All the celebrities and famous people were being found and killed, I knew immediately that it was only a matter of time before ‘the strongest man alive’ was drawn out and killed for the sport of it. The majority of my funds bled away once the world realized that I had no intention of fighting you two. I mean, no amount of push ups would lead me to leveling entire cities. No point in trying. I chopped off my hair, shaved off my mustache, and spent the last of my riches moving me and my daughter away, changing our names in the process. The world forgot about us, and we were about the safest we could be.”

“You know, I realize that this is real sad and all, but I’m getting seriously bored and the idea of blasting you through the torso is starting to look nicer and nicer by the second.” Eighteen added rudely.

The man paused, looking up to meet her gaze, his eyes studying her with a level of understanding that made the girl uncomfortable. 

Snarling she spat, “Stop looking at me like that! Finish or die!”

The man averted his gaze, staring at the ground as his lips parted, “I’ll wrap this up quick then. Long story short, I couldn’t live with myself, I started to drink, I would do anything I could to forget the life I had before all of this, forget about all that I lost to make my daughter safe.” 

Eighteen rolled her eyes with a sigh. She was bored now, she’d thought the man interesting at first due to the way he looked back at her with no fear in his eyes, but she was beginning to sense that maybe she’d over assumed about his character. The girl quietly began to list off the many possible ways she might go about torturing him for consuming so much of her time. 

“It was fun, for the most part.” He continued, seemingly unaware of Eighteen’s malicious gaze. “While I was drunk, I felt invincible. Me and my friends would enter a bar, get completely shit faced, and then start picking fights throughout the bar.” his face fell as he said this, “I hurt a lot of people during these drunken stupors. It made me feel confident when I’d lost everything, it made me feel in control in a world where a city could be obliterated in a day, and most of all it made me feel  _ powerful  _ in a world where I had never been less significant _ . _ It was like, during those times, I couldn’t be stopped by anyone. Even when the bouncers would jump in and try to stop my rampage, they barely took a second of my time to lay out flat, their noses bloody from where I struck them.”

The man sighed, his voice small despite his large size. “I did this nearly every night. Getting into bar fights, drinking until I’d black out. It felt  _ good _ . It made me feel like I could do  _ anything _ because  _ no one  _ could stop me when I decided to start fighting.”

Eighteen’s sneer slowly softened as she stared down at the man, her lips pulling into a thin frown. The thoughts of torture slowly being pushed to the back of her mind as she watched the man struggle to move forward with his story, his voice growing shaky as she could detect sorrow beginning to seep into his words.

_ ...because no one could stop me… _

The words repeated in her mind as she heard them. It was something she’d her brother say a number of times over the years. Hell, even she’d said them countless times whenever she heard the screams of ‘why are you doing this?’ in between the plees for her to stop or the screams of anguish that surrounded her wake. 

_ “Why? Why not? It’s not like anyone can stop us!” _

It was their reasoning, it was the philosophy that they lived by because it was true. Who could stop them? Sure, there was blondie, and every now and then he’d swing by to challenge them, but even then, it was clear that nothing he could do would ever put one of them down for good as long as they stuck together. The world was whatever they decided to do with it. If they decided that they wanted to destroy it, then they had every right to because there was no consequence to doing so. The Earth was theirs to do with as they please, and that fact was one that Eighteen was all to comfortable with. 

To hear another person reflect this mentality, even on a much smaller scale was...unsettling. She and her brother always drew a divide between themselves and the people they killed, tortured, and otherwise terrorized. How could they not? The humans were weak, pathetic creatures who as far as she was concerned only existed for their amusement. They were  _ nothing _ like herself or her brother, or at least, she’d thought so.

To realize that she could  _ relate  _ to this man, even on the smallest of scales...it hadn’t been something she would have ever predicted happening. It was  _ jarring _ , the very existence of someone else who felt the same way she and her brother did challenged the very notion that humans were  _ nothing  _ like herself or Seventeen. Because clearly, this human had at least  _ one thing  _ that she could relate to.

Eighteen frowned as she immediately dismissed the thought. So what if this one man could relate to her? That didn’t mean anything in the long run. It was just one guy, it didn’t mean that everyone was like this, even if this one man was the same as them on one level. That didn’t mean that the rest of the world wasn’t pathetic, weak willed, nobodies that deserved any more than the way she and her brother treated them.

_ They are scum, disgusting cockroaches at the bottom of our feet. _

Eighteen told herself, reminding herself that nothing this man could say would shake her resolve to kill, and destroy. That’s exactly what he wanted, that’s what  _ they all  _ wanted, and there wasn’t a chance in hell she would give it to them. 

Looking down at the man, she sneered.

_ You and I are nothing alike you weakling. _

But something inside her wasn’t so sure.

“It didn’t take long for the consequences of this life style to catch up with me.” He continued, his hands cupped around each other, the memory clearly paining him to say.

“Consequences?” Eighteen repeated confused.

_ You already said that no one could stop you, what consequences could there be? _

Her eyes flashed wide as she started to assume. A knowing grin pulled at the side of her mouth.

_ You found someone that  _ ** _could _ ** _ stop you didn’t you old man? _

She snickered.

_ Of course you did. You’re nothing more than a lowly little maggot. Even if you pretend to be like us, you don’t have the power to back it up. That’s the difference. When you say that no one can stop you, that’s only because you feel like that’s the truth. Where as with  _ ** _us_ ** _ , it’s  _ ** _reality_ ** _ . _

The man nodded slowly. “No one could stop me. I broke bones, and I gave black eyes. It was what I was good at. It was easy, and it was fun. Soon it wasn’t enough to just attack the bar but I started to turn on my friends too. I broke their arms and bruised their bodies and it wasn’t long after that that I stopped hearing from them. I kept returning to the bars, the bouncers couldn’t hope to keep me out, but soon my pockets ran dry. I couldn’t afford the booze, and I couldn’t afford my fun. I was forced to stay home and drink, and when I did, the urge to  _ hurt _ , the urge to feel  _ powerful  _ again crept up in me and I turned on the only one left in my life.”

She could see tears beginning to form in his eyes as he recounted this part of the story.

“I turned on my daughter. I beat her, into submission, I broke her wrist, and bruised her all about her body. She tried to fight back, she’d studied under me as a martial artist. She was my greatest student, even back when I still had my dojo…” Eighteen could see the tears pouring down his cheeks now, sniffing, the man continued. “I wish she’d been strong enough to beat me then.” He snarled, disgust at his own actions written on his features. “I wish she’d flipped me over her shoulder like I taught her, and snapped my arm right there and then. I wish she’d gotten on top of me and started to drive punch after punch into my face, giving me black eyes, and sinking my teeth into the back of my throat.”

Eighteen stared at the man with wide eyes. He  _ wanted  _ to be beaten? This idea, this concept made zero sense to her. Why would anyone ever  _ want  _ to be the lesser? Why would anyone ever  _ wish  _ to be weak?

“But that’s not what happened.” he grimaced.

“...what happened?” Eighteen suddenly said. The words had shocked even herself, she had no idea why she’d said them,  _ obviously  _ she didn’t  _ actually  _ care...right?

The man paused, seemingly just as shocked as she was as he looked up into her eyes.

Eighteen snarled, looking away as she said “Nevermind, I don’t give two shits either way about what happened to your daughter-”

“What happened was, I beat her until she was unconscious, and then I stumbled to my bed and passed out. In the morning, she was gone.” he sniffed, “I never saw her again. I cried and shouted, cursing the world for doing this to me when I knew damn well it was my own actions that did this to me.”

He sighed before continuing. “I fully expected police to bust through my door and arrest me for child abuse, but they never did. It occured to me that with all the attacks frequenting the area, the police likely didn’t have time to deal with each and every crime going on in the city. Or maybe she never went to the police, to this day, I’ve never known the answer to that question.”

Eighteen was quiet now, her arms crossed in a dismissing manner, but her facial expression had softened. She wanted to know where this story was going. 

“I’d done it.” He finally said after a long pause. “Even after all the fame and riches had left me, I continued to prove to the world that I was still in fact the strongest man, that no one could stop me. And at the end of all of it, all I had to show for my  _ monstrous  _ ways was the broken ruins of what had once been a good life. I had no friends, no money, no family...at the end of it all, I was left all alone with my strength...and nothing else.”

Eighteen fell quiet at this.

“...what happened next?”

The man raised an eyebrow her direction, but she didn’t react this time. She didn’t care if he knew that she wanted to know the end of the story any more.

“What happened next was I searched for my daughter, I picked up a new job here,” He motioned towards the structure all around them. “and dedicated the rest of my time to finding my daughter, to finding her and figuring out a way to apologize, and hopefully make things right. I stopped drinking, I took up reading, and dedicated everything, to finding the last thing in my life that I still cared about, that I still  _ loved. _ ”

_ Is there something that you love… _

The words repeated in Eighteen’s mind as she continued to listen.

“I’d later come to find out that she’d pursued the powers that you and the golden warrior have. She learned how to fly, and she learned how to shoot those beam things out of her hands. She sought to help the people she could after each of your attacks. She became a small time hero, flying around, carrying people to safety and doing everything she could to help those who could not help themselves.” Eighteen watched as the old man’s eyes adopted a look of pride mixed with sorrow, his lips curled into a smile but his eyes formed large tears that rolled down his cheeks.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.” He said with pride surging into his voice, “Of Course...I only learned of this  _ after  _ the fact…her body had been found and brought to me, the people she’d saved described her as a hero, obviously unaware of the events that had driven her away in the first place. If they’d known, I doubt they would have brought her to me.”

“...what happened to her?” Eighteen’s voice was quieter than usual, nothing like the snarker cynical tone she took with the majority of people she talked to. She’d asked the question, but she had the feeling that she knew the answer.

The older man looked straight into her eyes, a deep, and subtle anger to his words as he said. “You know what happened to her.”

Eighteen’s gaze fell away as she found she couldn’t maintain eye contact. She frowned a second later. So what she and her brother were responsible for the loss of this man’s daughter? They’d killed  _ literally  _ millions of people at this point, why should one more matter?

_ ...but it does matter… _

A voice in the back of her mind quietly said. It was barely a whisper, but she knew that at least a small part of her felt like this particular loss of life, was significant. 

_ Whatever, _ she thought to herself as she righted herself, pulling her chin up proudly as she began to look down on the man again,  _ Even if I do feel something right now it’s just like a sad movie, I’ll get over it once I’m done here. _

_ ...right? _

“She was what I loved. She was my everything. You asked why I wasn’t afraid of you? Well the reason is that you’ve already taken away everything that ever mattered to me. I have  _ nothing  _ to fear anymore.” He said flatly, the emotion drained from his voice. Eighteen could see a tiredness to his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. It was the look of a man who needed a nap, the look of a man who wanted to  _ sleep  _ for a long, long time.

“Which is why I asked you.” He said looking into Eighteen’s eyes. “Is there something, or maybe someone that you love?”

Eighteen didn’t answer the question. She could understand what he was saying without saying it. He was suggesting that somehow, someway, her story would end the same way his had. She couldn’t believe it,  _ wouldn’t  _ believe it. There was  _ no way  _ that she could ever wind up like this fool.

Right?

“What was your daughter’s name?” Eighteen finally asked. She didn’t know why it mattered if she knew the girl’s name, it wasn’t like she’d miraculously recall that specific girl’s face of the person she’d killed if she knew the name. But something inside her yearned to know more, to know more about this girl she’d never properly met.

“Well, when we got out names changed, her name was Luna,” The man said shaking his head. “But, her real name, the one my wife and I picked out together, was Videl, Videl Satan.”

“And yours?”

“Mark nowadays, but at one point, it had been Hercule, Hercule Satan.” Slowly, his body still weak due to the blood loss from earlier, he stretched out a hand towards the girl. “Nice to meet you.”

Eighteen stared down at the hand for several seconds, considering whether or not she should take it. Slowly, the girl uncrossed her crossed arms and began to reach out towards the man’s hand.

Their hands hand only just touched when she heard a noise from behind her.

“Kill steal!”

Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice  _ immediately. _

_ No! _

Her mind screamed as she whipped around to try and stop what she knew was coming. Just as she did however, she saw a golden sphere of energy shoot past her face.

And then it was all red.

“Oooohhh, sorry sis! I didn’t know he’d splatter that much!”

Eighteen’s eyes were wide, she could  _ feel  _ it all over her right side. Her head slowly turned back to the man, his hand still in hers. She could see the shocked expression on his face, the light slowly dimming from his eyes. The blast had ripped straight through his large torso. His blood was completely coating her right side and hand, the hand that could feel his grip slowly easing until there was no strength left in the handshake.

“...I’ll be there...soon... Videl…” Eighteen could hear in a faint whisper as the man slumped in his chair and fell to the floor, his hand ripping away from hers in the process.

“You’re not too mad are you? I know that you’d just gotten that top…” Seventeen said with a nervousness to his voice. He knew full well that his sister didn’t like her clothes ruined.

Eighteen didn’t respond. She simply looked down at the limp corpse currently occupying the space at her feet. This was how it was always going to end...wasn’t it? She’d told him, that once their conversation was over, she’d kill him. She’d even gone over all the ways she’d planned to kill him  _ during  _ their conversation. It wasn’t as if she’d been denied the end of the conversation either. As far as she could tell, that had been the end of the story, there had been nothing left to share between the two of them.

_ Then why...why do I feel so...upset? _

She asked herself quietly as she continued to stare at the body at her feet. Why did it feel like her brother had just  _ cheated  _ her out of something? Like she’d just had something valuable, something special,  _ stolen  _ from her, snatched away before she’d been ready to let go.

“Uhhhh, sis? What are you doing?”

Looking down she noticed what her brother was mentioning. 

She hadn’t let go of his hand.

“Ugh!” She exclaimed as she immediately let go of the corpse, letting the hand slap against the pool of blood on the floor.

“Disgusting!” She sneered as she stepped away from the body. Out of the corner of her eye she could still see Melody quietly shaking beneath the counter, her two hands tightly wrapped around her mouth as she stared at the body of Hercule Satan, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She didn’t know why, but Eighteen decided to meet her brother halfway, stopping him from going behind the counter and noticing the girl.

“You okay? Man you’re gonna wanna get out of those clothes huh?”

Eighteen nodded, her expression one of pure rage as she shot her sibling a look that made the boy nervous. It was a look she reserved only for Blondie when he was being  _ particularly  _ difficult, and for when Seventeen ruined a set of clothes she’d had her eye on.

It was clear to her that he assumed her anger was due to the blood coating her entire right side. Even she was quick to assume that was the reason...but something told her that wasn’t the  _ only  _ reason.

“Uhhhh,” Seventeen began as he took a step back, “You win!” He suddenly exclaimed.

Eighteen’s eyebrows furrowed as she repeated, “I won?”

“Yeah! The game! You won!” He exclaimed clearly trying to subvert her anger.

Her arms crossed as she was reminded of the game she’d been playing with her brother at the start of all of this. For a moment she considered ignoring his declaration and instead chewing him out for killing the man so close to her, splattering his remains onto her person. Then she recalled the spoils for winning the game, or, ‘coming close’ as he’d put it.

“So you’re gonna leave me alone and let me shop now right?” Her voice was sharp and heavily laced with annoyance.

“Yes ma'am!” Seventeen nodded with a smile on his face. 

“And you’re not gonna bug me for the rest of the day right?” Eighteen pointed a dangerous finger at her brother.

Seventeen raised his hands in mock surrender, “Not a peep! You won’t see me till the sun goes down.”

Eighteen’s finger retracted as she pulled her arm back to her chest.

“Good.”

Seventeen began to backpedal out of the store as he said, “Welp! Wouldn’t want to annoy ya anymore than I have so I’ll see ya later!” He said as his feet lifted off the ground and the boy left the store.

Eighteen watched him go, the anger in her face easing until she was showing no emotion. Seventeen always said that she had a bad case of resting bitch face, but she never saw it.

She slowly turned her head until she was looking over at the girl cowering behind the counter. Their eyes met, and Eighteen could see the fear in the girl’s eyes as her trembling began to worsen. 

Eighteen considered blowing the girl away with a single blast, but hesitated when she lifted her hand. Something about it just felt empty. She didn’t  _ want  _ to kill, or at least not right now.

“It’s your lucky day kid.” Eighteen whispered before dropping her hand and beginning to head out the door. Before she exited the store, she turned and stole one last glance at where Hercule had once been sitting, studying the way his blood had impacted the wall behind him, before turning away and making her way back to her original shop.

She knew that she would make better time if she’d decided to fly there, but for some reason she felt a walk was more appropriate. The entire walk, she replayed the conversation she’d had with the man in her head.

_ “- I continued to prove to the world that I was still in fact the strongest man, that no one could stop me. And at the end of all of it, all I had to show for my monstrous ways was the broken ruins of what had once been a good life.” _

_ Does he think that could somehow happen to me? Like our lives are similar in  _ ** _any way?_ **

She thought incredulously to herself. The very idea that she and he were the same was  _ laughable _ .

...wasn’t it?

It was painfully clear that the humans wouldn’t be around forever. The rate at which she and her brother killed them was far faster than they could reproduce. That was abundantly clear to her. She knew that there would be a time in the future when she and her brother had finally killed the last of the humans.

_ What then? _

The girl asked herself as she stepped into the shop. What would they do when all the humans were dead? When all the fun was over? Would she turn on her brother like Hercule had his daughter? Would Seventeen turn on  _ her  _ out of sheer boredom? 

_ No! Of course not! I love my brother and he loves me! _

She sneered at the thought, disgusted that she even  _ considered  _ turning against her brother. He was all she had in the world, he was the one person she had always been able to trust, to count on when things were tough even before they’d become androids. There was  _ no way  _ she’d ever betray him. She  _ loved  _ her brother, more than anything in the world!

_ ...and he’d loved his daughter...it didn’t stop him… did it? _

Eighteen snarled as she pushed the thought out of her head. 

_ Enough of that, I finally have time to properly shop. None of that matters anymore. Stop thinking about it. _

The blonde slowly made her way to the dressing rooms, planning to strip away her ruined attire and start picking out a new one immediately.

She shut the door behind her before turning around to face the mirror, planning to inspect what had been properly ruined and what had been fortunate enough to get little to no blood on it when she froze.

She’d been covered in blood, hundreds, maybe  _ thousands  _ of times over the decade of time she and her brother spent killing and destroying this world. Blood was hardly anything more than an annoyance at this point. Blood was just another factor she had to consider whenever she decided to  _ slaughter  _ another of this world’s weaklings. Often times it boiled down to ‘do I care about this outfit I’m wearing?’ and little else..

But as she stared at the reflection, and her reflection stared back at her. Her eyes lingered on the dark red coating her entire right side. It wasn’t just  _ blood, _ it was  _ his  _ blood,  _ Hercules  _ blood that coated her skin and clothes in that instant. Looking at herself in the mirror, no matter how hard she tried to push the thought out of her head, no matter how she tried to tell herself that she’d been covered in more blood than anyone could hope to measure.

All she could see looking back at herself was a  **monster** .

  
  
  



	2. Talking With a Monster Chapter 2: Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the conversation with Hercule, Eighteen is left to ponder what she should do with his message when a familiar and unwelcome face shows up. Son gohan.

_ -Gohan- _

The air whistled as his fist split the air. 

Gohan’s expression was one of pure focus as he followed up the punch with a straight kick aimed towards his imaginary opponents abdomen. Retracting the leg, he struck out with a roundhouse kick designed to connect with the target’s jaw had there been one in front of him.

He was wearing his father’s signature fighting Gi. Wearing it made him feel like his dad, a hero, a powerful strong warrior who could overcome any obstacle!

If only that were true.

Dust kicked up as he abruptly lowered his stance, performing a sweeping maneuver with one leg that served to trip up his oxygen adversary. Using the same momentum he’d built from his sweep he shot forward leading with his left side, driving his-

Gohan paused as he did this, his body going stiff as he realized what he’d done  _ again _ . The man was floating in the sky, his left shoulder extended for a punch, a punch meant to be delivered with an arm that was no longer there.

“Damn it!” the young Saiyan cursed as he pulled back his arm and returned to the ground only inches below. He’d chosen a barren wasteland with little in the way of shade or water for his training grounds. Dry, dusty desert stretched on for as far as the eye could see as he raised his forearm to wipe away the sweat accumulating on his forehead. He winced as he accidentally pulled at the bandage wrapping around his head. 

He knew he hadn’t fully healed just yet, but that didn’t change the fact that he needed to reteach himself how to fight almost from the ground up. Gohan was learning first hand that attempting to compensate for the loss of a limb was no easy task. He was fighting against  _ years  _ of muscle memory with each and every strike. Each of his movements felt sluggish as he was forced to plan out and map out each motion to compensate for the new style. 

A sigh escaped his lips as his head fell.

“This is pointless.” the man said as he raised his remaining hand to his forehead and removed the last of his bandages. The cut he’d suffered there wasn’t fully healed, but he figured that a sweat soaked rag wouldn’t be good for a healing cut anyway.

He felt stronger than he’d ever been. His Saiyan biology made sure of that. Vegeta had always said that a Saiyan always grows stronger after coming back from the brink of death. Looking down at where his arm had once been, it was clear to him that he’d definitely been on the brink this time.

Despite this new found power, Gohan had never felt weaker. He’d fought the Androids dozens of times over the past decade, nearly died more times than he could count, but never had his loss been so  _ costly _ before.

_ I don’t have a chance against them now. _

Gohan knew it to be true. All the power in the world wouldn’t help him if he couldn’t get his fighting style down. Not to mention that he’d already been fighting an uneven battle before his loss, this was just the nail in the coffin in his eyes.

The Saiyan’s fingers curled into a fist as his teeth gritted. His eyes studied the place where his arm had been, his mind returning to the fight immediately before he’d been so critically wounded. Pushing himself to his absolute limits, finally getting the upper hand on Seventeen only for Eighteen to step in and swiftly tilt the odds back in their favor  _ again _ . Trunks jumping into the fight only to be treated like the child he is, and being rendered so helpless that he’d been forced to intervene or sacrifice yet  _ another  _ life to the Androids. He’d been driven into defense yet again, a dynamic he knew all too well as he was forced to hide and  _ hope  _ that they didn’t find him. Clutching Trunks to his chest as he awaited his fate, he could still feel the remnants of helplessness in the pit of his stomach as he sat there praying to whatever god was watching that they didn’t find him.

And then the big reveal as the Androids decided to lay waste to everything in the area with so much power that it’d been all he could do to keep Trunks in one piece.

He’d not been able to give the same courtesy to himself.

Thinking back to the moment he decided to save Trunks over his own arm, he knew if the scenario had played through a second time that he would make the same choice, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t angry about it.

Finally the Saiyan’s rage reached it’s breaking point as he threw his head back in a primal roar. His body wrapped itself in golden flames as his hair stood up straight, adopting the signature look of the Super Saiyan, the legend of his heritage.

_ Some legend. _

Gohan thought dismissively as he felt himself reach the peak of his power. The ground beneath him rumbled as he reached the apex of his strength, loose stones and dust violently repelled away from him in response to his overwhelming aura.

Looking down at his hand surrounded by golden flame his lips pulled into a tight frown.

_ It’s not enough.  _

His lips parted as a second furious roar exploded from his lungs. In a movement faster than the naked eye could see, his fist slammed into the ground beneath him. The Earth responded with a crater longer than the length of a city bus as the Super Saiyan stood at its center, panting from the exertion of energy.

The  _ frustration  _ that came with being so  _ strong  _ and yet so  _ weak  _ was overwhelming. A Super Saiyan, a legend that apparently generations of his people  _ yearned  _ for had been reduced to a couple of teen’s periodic play thing. 

Gohan knew that he was the strongest defender the Earth had to offer, the only force that could even hope to stand up to the Androids. He was the Earth’s savior, many of the remaining people of Earth recognized him as such, but he was  _ nothing  _ in the face of such an overwhelming evil. 

Gohan knew this fact to be true. He’d spent years challenging the Androids with little to show for it than a long list of scars and a missing arm. It’d gotten to the point that when he engaged the Androids he no longer sought to win, he merely did his best to stall for as long as possible so that the few survivors who did make it out from their initial attack had  _ some _ chance to get away. 

A slow sigh escaped the man’s lips as he let the aura around him extinguish, his hair returning to its typical onyx complexion. He slowly positioned himself into a sitting position, his brow furrowed as he searched the recesses of his mind for  _ any  _ solution to this nightmare that he’d been living for so long. 

He hated the reality of his situation. He was it, he was all that was left of his dad’s friends, the original defenders of Earth. He was stronger than any of them had ever been, and yet still too weak to actually make a difference. 

He wanted to make it end, wanted more than anything to stop the Androids. Even if it cost him his life, that was a sacrifice that Gohan was willing to make. If it meant peace for the world, the man would make that choice in an instant.

But that was the problem, he couldn’t make that sacrifice, or at least, not yet.

Gohan knew that if he risked it all, if he pushed past everything and forgoed any thought of self preservation, there was no assurance that his efforts would bear fruit. 

And if he failed...what then?  
_Then the people of Earth really are doomed._

He thought to himself. If he lost, if his flame was finally extinguished, he knew it would mean the end for everyone. He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, it was a weight he’d grown accustomed to over the many years of carnage and pain. Despite this fact, it didn’t make the weight any less  _ heavy _ .

“Gohan!” 

The Saiyan’s head perked up as he heard his name called. Scanning the air above him, his gaze landed on a familiar face. 

Smiling, he responded, “Hey Trunks, How’s it going?”

The boy was panting furiously with sweat running down the side of his face. It was clear to Gohan that the boy had exerted himself to get here. 

“I felt your power boom and assumed it was the Androids! Are you okay!?” the teen’s head whipped left and right furiously as his serious gaze searched for potential threats. His clothes were simple, a long sleeve T-shirt with some sweatpants and sneakers, clearly the clothes he’d been wearing just before he’d felt Gohan’s energy erupt. 

Chuckling, Gohan shook his head, “False alarm kid. I was just testing my power. Did you know that Saiyans get stronger every time they come back from the brink of death?”

Trunk’s serious demeanor fell as Gohan spoke, his face adopting a look of wonderment as he took in the new piece of information.

“Really?”  
“Really really. I’m way stronger than I was when we faced the Androids last time. I’m even willing to bet that you got stronger too.” Gohan put on a confident smile for the boy, flexing his one arm in an over the top way.

The smile that slowly spread across the boy’s face made his act all worth it.

“That’s awesome!” Trunks shouted as he slowly lowered himself until he was standing next to Gohan, “Do you think that you’ll be strong enough to finally stop the Androids the next time they attack?”

Gohan felt his smile falter. 

“Anything’s possible with enough training kid.” he said trying to maintain his upbeat attitude. The boy _deserved _to have something to hope for. If that hope was him? So be it.  
“Alright!” the teen’s facial features tightened as he adopted a serious expression once more, “Then let’s do some training! I’m ready to get strong enough to stop these monsters!”

Gohan smiled. Even if he didn’t have the strength, he certainly had the heart.

Rising to his feet, Gohan brushed off the dirt from his pants, “That sounds like an excellent idea Trunks.”

Dropping into his modified fighting stance, leading with his one good arm, he readied himself for the fight to come.   
  


- _ Twenty Minutes Later- _

Trunks was on his back breathing heavily as Gohan stood above him, a hand on his hip as he smiled down at the boy.

“I was right!” he chimed as Trunks wiped away the sweat on his brow, “You’ve definitely grown in strength since the last time we’ve sparred.”

The boy’s excitement was immediate, “Really!?” he said hopping to his feet, “Do you think that we’re ready to take on the Androids finally!?”

Gohan’s smile fell as he watched the boy’s excitement. He could tell that Trunks wanted more than anything to stop the Androids, to be the change that the world so desperately needed. It was always hard to let him down when he got like this.

“I don’t think so. Not yet at least.” Gohan formed a sympathetic smile, “Soon hopefully. Once you become a Super Saiyan, I’m sure we’ll be ready.”

Trunks’s excitement quickly turned into uncertainty. The boy had been struggling to achieve the transformation for some time now. He’d gotten close, so close that Gohan had jumped the gun on a few attempts, but for one reason or another, he couldn’t seem to break through the wall that was the legendary Super Saiyan.

_ He doesn’t have the right drive, he needs to feel the rage of loss, of losing something more precious to him than anything else.  _

Gohan thought to himself as he smiled, “Let’s give it another go yeah? I want to see if maybe this power boost was enough to push you over the edge into a Super Saiyan!”  
He didn’t actually think that this attempt would end any different than the last dozen times. He just didn’t want the boy to give up hope. From what Gohan could tell, the boy’s greatest strength was his hope, and he didn’t want to do anything that might weaken that.

Trunks frowned as his shoulders slumped, “Gohan...I don’t think that I’m gonna get it. I’ve tried so many times already now and-”  
“Non-sense!” Gohan exclaimed as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “I know that you can transform because I can. You and I are both Half-Saiyans. We’re just like each other, and that’s why I know that you can do it!”

Gohan watched as the boy’s eyes lit up from the comment, the determination slowly flooding back into them. Gohan smiled. 

_ Good, he needs to believe in himself, he needs to believe that he can make a difference...he just needs one final push… _

“Trunks.” Gohan lowered himself so that he was eye level with the boy, “I believe in you. I believe that you can become a Super Saiyan if you try hard enough.”

There was a twinkle in the teen’s eye as his brow furrowed into a determined expression, “Right!” he announced as he spread out his stance and curled his fingers into fists. Gohan could feel the boy’s power rising to its zenith as he adopted an angry look. His face was so full of frustration and determination that Gohan could sense the briefest glimpses of what a Super Saiyan’s power  _ should  _ be. 

The older Saiyan made sure to put on a reassuring face. He made sure that he wasn’t giving away that he already knew that the teen was going to fail. 

“That’s it Trunks! Remember what I told you! Imagine all the lives that the Androids have taken! Imagine your mother at the mercy of the Androids! Imagine that if you don’t step up right here, right now and become a Super Saiyan, then everyone you know and love is going to die!” It was a hard reality to force upon a fourteen year old boy, but it was the reality that they were facing, and one that Gohan knew he needed to hear.

Gohan watched as Trunks’s hair began to spike, resembling the typical aesthetic of a Super Saiyan. There were flickers of gold beginning to appear within his otherwise white aura, threatening to ascend the boy to a state he’d never been able to achieve before.

Even with all of this, Gohan knew not to get his hopes up.

A few seconds later, the teen’s legs gave out as he fell to the ground, his breathing labored as his fingers dug into the dirt.

“Damn it!” the teen shouted as he raised a fist and slammed it into the dirt.

Gohan squatted in front of the boy, a reassuring smile plastered onto his face, “Don’t worry Trunks, I could see that you were closer than ever with that attempt. Don’t give up hope. You’ll become a Super Saiyan one day soon.”

An unconfident smile flashed across the boy’s features before he returned to his raspy exhausted panting.

Noting the teen’s fatigue the elder Saiyan said, “How about we take a break huh? I know a spot where the wind hits just right and there’s plenty of shade to get out of this hot sun.”

Trunks smiled, “Yeah,  _ gasp, _ I think that’s a good idea.”

_ -Ten Minutes Later- _

The two Demi-Saiyans laided prone as they looked up at the clouds peacefully drifting by.The location happened to provide a stunning view of South City, but right now Gohan wasn’t trying to look after a city, right now he was watching the clouds. The older Saiyan enjoyed watching the clouds, they always looked like floating bits of cotton candy swimming through the vast blueness that was the Earth’s atmosphere. Even if he knew that they were nothing more than water particles condensed into mist, it didn’t stop his imagination from pretending that they were made of cotton candy. It’d been an idea he had as a child that he’d never let go. He liked to pretend that they were cotton candy.

_ I’m such a kid sometimes. _

He chuckled to himself as he let his eyes close, deciding to dedicate his attention to the feeling of the cool breeze dancing across his skin.  
The two of them were laying flat on one of the many natural rock formations all around them. The irregularly shaped towers of stacked stones provided a pleasant spot of shade that the two Saiyans had been all too eager to take advantage of. The wind that blew through the numerous rock structures created a pleasant natural melody that Gohan enjoyed listening to.

“Hey Gohan?”

One eye opened, “Yeah Trunks?”

“Do you really think I’m like you?’

“Of course kid. You and me are both half-Saiyans. You’re dad was just as much a Saiyan as mine was.”

Trunks smiled, “You think so?”

Gohan let his eye close, an easy smile resting on his lips, “I know so kid. If anything, your dad was even more of a Saiyan than mine was.”

“...I’m glad. I hope I’m like you were when you were a kid.”

Gohan’s smile withered.

As much as it pained him to admit it Trunks  _ wasn’t  _ like how he’d been as a child. Gohan remembered how as a kid he’d have these short bursts of pure  _ rage  _ that granted him brief moments of overwhelming  _ power _ . The older Saiyan reflected on the time he’d faced off against Frieza, when his rage overtook his young mind and his body just sort of moved on its own. Blinded by fury, he remembered rushing the tyrant, driving fist after fist into his sternum before driving the monster into the ground with an incredible Ki blast that rattled the planet with it’s force.

No one had been able to do that to the tyrant before that moment. And yet somehow  _ he’d _ been able to. The flash of power had been gone a moment later, but it had been enough to buy his friends precious seconds in their effort to stall until his father arrived. 

Gohan had secretly hoped that Trunks would reflect this power. It’d been a gamble on his end, and the main reasoning for why he’d brought Trunks along at all in their previous battle against the Androids. He’d hoped that the rage he’d experienced as a kid was indicative of being a half-breed; that Trunks would suddenly grow strong enough to hold one of the Androids at bay for long enough for him to dispatch the other.

It didn’t take long for Gohan to find out that he’d been wrong. His gamble had  _ failed,  _ and the consequences of his gamble had nearly cost both his and the boy’s life as a result. 

It had been difficult to face Bulma after the incident. 

Gohan couldn’t understand why Trunks didn’t have the same flashes of power that he had, or rather, that he’d had  _ as a kid. _ Ever since the Androids appeared, that rage had suddenly vanished. The last time he’d felt it, the last time it’d aided him in his fight, had been the same day all of his friends had died.

He could still remember the event as if it’d happened just yesterday. He remembered watching Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Choitzu being cut down with only a simple flick of the wrist. When their bodies hit the floor, it’d been surreal. The world hadn’t felt real, like a bad dream, like a  _ nightmare.  _ Gohan remembered his body going numb in that moment, sensations fled his body as he began to truly interpret what was going on. 

His friends, the people who’d grown up with him, raised him, were all dying now.  
He remembered trembling in fear, unable to move, let alone fight as Piccolo and Vegeta did their best against the vile creatures. Vegeta was the first to go down between the two of them, not because he was the weaker, but because they’d taken him the most seriously as a Super Saiyan. 

Then it’d been only Piccolo and Gohan remaining. Gohan remembered getting pulled out of his stupor by a violent slap from Seventeen across his cheek. The force of the blow had been enough to send the boy hurtling to the ground below, tearing through a two story building like it was made of paper. Gohan figured that the Android had expected it to kill based on the look of surprise on his face when he slowly picked himself up and finally readied himself for a fight.

But it was too late.

Over Seventeen’s shoulder, Gohan could see the fight between Eighteen and Piccolo playing out. The Namekian to his credit had always been a smart fighter, playing his strengths and using his opponent’s power against them. It’d been how he managed to keep up with Vegeta during the battle despite being vastly weaker by comparison. But there was only so much one could do against a power  _ so overwhelming. _

Gohan remembered watching as the Demon explosive wave exploded out from the palm of his master fully bathing the female Android in it’s destructive energy. 

For a moment, Gohan grew excited. He’d noticed before that the Android’s power levels were undetectable, so he had to use his eyes to determine the outcome of the battle. He remembered smiling proudly up at his master as the Namekian finally got the edge on the Android. 

Then Eighteen’s arm shot out of the wave directly in front of Piccolo, gripping the Namekian’s arm with enough force that Gohan could hear the audible crack of bones breaking. The wave of energy dispersed immediately. Raising her other hand to Piccolo’s chest, Gohan watched as a wave of energy twice as large as Piccolo’s engulfed the Namekian.

Gohan remembered watching the smoke clear, and seeing that the only remaining piece of his master be the forearm Eighteen had held the Namekian in place with.

That had been the snapping point for Gohan. With the death of Piccolo, it cemented the deaths of the rest of his friends as the Dragon Balls became little more than paper weights.

He remembered his world turning white as his rage overtook his senses. When he eventually came back, he was standing over a battered looking Seventeen in a massive crater with Eighteen only a few feet away looking annoyed and roughed up as well.

As far as Gohan could tell, it’d been the closest he’d ever come to actually defeating the Androids.

And the last time he ever felt that rage of his push him past his limits. 

“Hey Gohan?”

Trunks’s voice snapped the young man out of his trance as he blinked. 

Turning his head, he answered, “Yeah Trunks?”  
“Why can’t I transform?”

It was a question he asked often. The answer was simple really. He’d never had much to begin with being born into such a nightmare. He’d never been able to grow the attachments Gohan had been able to as a child. The only important person in his life was his mom, well that, and Gohan himself. With nothing else to lose, that rage would never become what it needed to be for him to finally go over the edge.

“You just need the right motivation is all Trunks.” Gohan finally answered, “For me it’s simple. I just think about Krillin or Piccolo, about how they were slaughtered by the Androids. It’s like a dam swelling with water just before the dam breaks.”

Just then, Gohan felt the ground beneath him rumble as a massive boom rang through his ear drums. The Demi-Saiyan shot to his feat as he saw it. South City, under attack yet again by the Androids. His teeth grit together as he watched yet another yellow eruption of energy overtake several city blocks.

“Not again! Do they ever stop!?” Trunks shouted in anger.

_ No. _

Gohan thought in response.

_ They’ll never stop unless they  _ ** _are _ ** _ stopped. They need to be stopped. This nightmare  _ ** _needs _ ** _ to  _ ** _end_ ** _ . _

Gohan’s fist tightened as he let his power surge forth. Bellowing a short cry of power, golden flames erupted all around him as Super Saiyan energy radiated from him once more.

“I’m going too!” 

Gohan frowned as he looked over towards the younger Demi-Saiyan. The kid was almost like a little brother to him. And he could see that drive, that hope of his fueling his determination to do everything he could to stop these  _ monsters _ .

“No Trunks,” He finally spoke as another eruption of energy rumbled the rocks they occupied, “You’re not ready. You will one day. I promise that. But until that time you’ll only make me more vulnerable by coming with.”  
“Gohan! I can’t let you fight alone with your injury! There’s no way you can win with your wound!” The emotion behind the boy’s words was more than apparent. Gohan could detect genuine fear from the teen’s concerns.

He smiled. It felt nice to have someone looking out for him again. 

Or, at the very least, trying to.

“Alright Trunks, you’re right. Let’s take these monsters down together!”

The look of delight that spread across made it almost impossible for what he had to do next.

Almost.

When the teen turned his back to Gohan, his eyes scanning the city in preparation to take off after the Androids, Gohan raised his single hand and delivered a precise chop to the back of his head. The effect was immediate. Gohan watched as Trunks’s knees began to buckle, and caught him before he could hit the ground too hard.

Gently lowering the boy to the ground by his shirt he said, “I’m sorry Trunks. I nearly got you killed last time. I can’t risk that again. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”

Redirecting his attention back to South City, he watched as yet another explosion rocked one of the last pieces of civilization left. 

He stole one last glance at Trunks, the boy resting peacefully on the rock beside him, before his aura exploded outward and his feet left the ground. The air whipped around him as he moved towards the screams below.

Gohan’s resolve steeled over as he flew, his mind going over what was going to happen, what  _ had  _ to happen. 

_ I can’t keep doing this forever. I need to end it. One way, or another. _

He’d known this for months, hell even years. He’d known  _ why  _ his rage, his  _ true  _ power had chosen to abandon him. 

Or, at least, he thought he did.

It was because he couldn’t fight with everything he had. He couldn’t push himself to break his limits because if he messed up, if he didn’t play it safe then the Earth would lose its mightiest and last defender. It was why in almost all of his fights he always reserved a quarter of his energy to escaping once he’d stalled long enough for the rest of the survivors to get away. It was why he’d stopped making friends, stopped visiting master Roshi and Bulma, why he lived in isolation in his single room apartment at the edge of a small town in the east. 

It was because he knew that if he did make friends, if he did maintain those connections with Roshi, Bulma, and even his  _ mother _ , that he would lose them like he lost everyone else. It was because he knew that in the end if the Androids attacked them, he wouldn’t be strong enough to stop them.

And he wasn’t strong enough to lose them either.

It was that  _ fear  _ that motivated him to play it safe, it was that  _ fear,  _ that stopped him from giving it every last bit of his strength. He couldn’t dedicate himself to the fight, because he felt that if he did it might just dedicate everything he knew to its demise. 

But not anymore.

Trunks had been his only acception to his self-enforced rule of isolation, and the only reason he’d started talking to Bulma again. Trunks was the future, Trunks was his reassurance that, even if he did fail, there was at least  _ someone  _ that could take his place. 

_ It means that I can finally cut loose. _

He told himself.

_ It means that I can finally devote everything I have to destroying these monsters. _

He knew that he needed to do this now. If he waited any longer, it would only be a matter of time before he suffered an injury that he couldn’t bounce back from, or he messed up his retreat and was taken down before he could deal any substantial damage. This moment, right now was the best chance he had at beating the Androids. He could feel it, the drive, the motivation to do  _ everything  _ and  _ anything  _ he had to, to snuff out the light from their eyes that they so ruthlessly took from others. 

_ And maybe if I finally do cut loose...finally do push everything to its maximum, that power I once had will return. _

Gohan’s hope of that rage he’d once exemplified reamerging swelled in his chest as he flew. To him it’d only stopped because he’d stopped trying with all his might. 

Well he certainly planned to try with everything he had today. There was no amount of training that he could use to prepare, no more techniques he could hope to study, nothing left for him to do but throw himself at the problem and hope that he’s enough. 

_ One way or another… today’s the day my fight ends. _

He decided for himself as he saw the general outline of Seventeen standing with his back turned atop a building.

“Let’s do this.” He whispered under his breath as he surged forward.

- _ Android Eighteen, South City- _

Despite her brother’s clear enjoyment, Eighteen was finding it hard to relish in his activities. Her mind just wasn’t in it today. She was still thinking about that man...what was his name again?  
_Hercule._

Hercule Satan. Eighteen couldn’t help but think the name was odd to say, even odder for her to have remembered. 

The blonde had decided to make a broken down car her seat as she pulled up her knees as to rest her elbows on. Her hands cupped her face as she stared down at the broken and cracked asphalt. 

Her conversation with the man had already been twenty minutes ago, and it bothered her that she still couldn’t get their conversation out of her head. She’d changed out of her old clothes shortly after the fact. Wearing ‘comfy clothes’ as she called them, some simple black tights with a comfy blue hoodie coating her torso. 

Seventeen’s laughter began to get on her nerves as he fired blast after blast into the already devastated city. He’d taken perch atop one of the few structures that hadn’t been entirely leveled yet. His sharp eyes scanned through the rubble for any signs of life before promptly snuffing it out.

“C’mon sis you’re missing out over there! Have some fun! You’ve been such a downer ever since our last game!”

Eighteen rolled her eyes at her brother’s insistence that she play along. She usually  _ loved  _ killing people, it took the edge off of everyday life. But right now she couldn’t stop remembering the way she’d seen herself in the mirror earlier. 

_ The first word I thought when I stepped in front of the mirror...was  _ ** _monster_ ** _ … _

She frowned again. She’d  _ never  _ considered herself a monster before. How could she? She was just doing what came naturally to anyone in power. If you had the power, then it was your right to do with it as you pleased. It was just the way things worked on this blue and green rock. 

_ So why did I do that just now? _

Eighteen began to grumble to herself growing ever more annoyed at her own actions. She regretted sparing the man for as long as she had. If she’d just killed him right away like she’d normally do, she wouldn’t be dealing with... _ whatever  _ these strange  _ doubts _ were suggesting.

She didn’t like them. 

She wanted them gone.

_ Maybe Seventeen is right. I need to take the edge off.  _

Eighteen’s head slowly turned as she scanned her surroundings, looking for a moving target of any kind for her to let out some of her frustration on. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a movement from a pile of rubble. Turning her head so that she was focusing on it now, she could see a man’s trembling hand reaching out of the top of a massive pile of cement and rock. It’d probably been excruciating for the man to have so much blunt pressure forced upon his body. She imagined that it’d probably taken him a whole hour to climb to the top.

_ Perfect. _

A malicious smile split the girl’s face as she raised her index finger and aimed the beam towards the man’s slowly rising shape. From what she could see, her estimations had been right. His body was covered in scrapes and bruises, blood coated his head from a still dripping head wound. She couldn’t imagine the level of fear and anxiety racing through his mind right now.

_ It is not your lucky day buddy. _

Without a moment of hesitation, the golden beam split the air and drove straight through the man’s back. Eighteen watched with a smile as the man screamed out in pain just before a rush of blood filled his mouth. She paused, watching the show as he began to cough violently from the punctured lung she’d just given him.

Much to her surprise however, watching the man struggle for life didn’t bring the level of satisfaction she’d expected. Instead, she found her smile slowly pulling into a frown. 

The man was  _ dying _ . It was a prospect she was all too familiar with. But as she sat atop the hood of a broken down Police car, she couldn’t help but think back to the moments just before Hercule drew his last breath. The amount of agony he must have felt as he processed the hole Seventeen and forced through his body, before quickly expiring. Right now, this random, no life, weak, disgusting,  _ cockroach... _ was going through the exact same pain Hercule had.

“...”

Without another word Eighteen fired a follow up beam from her palm, resulting in an explosion that fully engulfed the dying stranger. 

She pulled her eyes away from where he’d just been and opted to study the asphalt once more.

“Hey there you go!” Seventeen encouraged, taking a moment to briefly glance over his shoulder at her work before returning his attention to taking pot shots at the few remaining survivors attempting to scurry away beneath the rubble that used to be the city.

_ Just like cockroaches… _

Eighteen told herself with the same malicious approach she always exemplified in these matters. But the words felt...empty to her for some reason.

_ Damn that old man. _

The woman sighed as she let her head lull back, groaning as she did so. 

_ I’m getting nowhere with this. Maybe I need an outsider’s opinion. _

“Hey Seventeen!”  
“Yeah sis?” he answered absentmindedly as he fired another blast into the city.

“Do you ever have...doubts?” Eighteen struggled to find the right way to describe what she was feeling at that moment. Was it doubts that she was having?

“Doubts?” he repeated as he looked over his shoulder raising an eyebrow at the girl, “Why would I have doubts? The only reason to doubt something is if something bad could happen to you for doing it. Nothing else really matters sis.”  
“...but what if there _are _consequences? What if they are just consequences that we can’t see just yet?”

Seventeen snorted, “What, you think some random dude is gonna pop up and suddenly stop us? It’s been over a decade sis, no one’s coming to stop us. We have free reign to do  _ whatever  _ we want!” he laughed as he gestured out with two hands, motioning to all around them.

“This is every man’s  _ dream come true! _ ” He continued, “Why would you have ‘doubts’?”

“I…” Eighteen slowly began, choosing her words carefully, “I dunno. I read something that made me think otherwise.” she lied, “It was something stupid, ignore me.” she sighed with a dismissive wave.

“C’mon sis, lighten up! No one can ever bother us anymore! We're the kings of the-”

Just then, Seventeen’s figure shot off to the right as a familiar navy blue boot struck the side of his face.  
Eighteen raised an eyebrow as she saw Blondie floating in the sky where her brother had once been, his expression one of pure determination.

Turning her head, she watched as Seventeen drove through what she predicted had once been a hospital. Unable to stop his momentum, she listened as he spat vulgar obscenity after vulgar obscenity as he went through each floor of the building.

Eighteen struggled to contain her laughter as she watched her brother step out from the ground floor of the building, his shirt torn to shreds and barely hanging off his torso.

Finally she couldn’t help herself as she burst out laughing, pointing a finger she exclaimed, “Oh my god he totally just slapped your shit!”

Seventeen’s expression wasn’t jovial however as he glared in Blondie’s direction which Eighteen was only realizing now seemed to be  _ missing something. _

“Correction,” Seventeen began, his voice clearly trying to suppress the anger lying just beneath the surface, “After  _ today _ , we won’t have anyone that can bother us.”

Eighteen smiled. She was actually glad Blondie had decided to drop by. She needed to blow off some  _ steam _ .

_ -Gohan- _

Gohan internally chastised himself for not taking better advantage of his initial attack. He’d considered leading with a massive ki blast on the unaware Seventeen, but hadn’t been sure if his attack would go unnoticed for long enough to actually land. He didn’t want to waste power against Androids who never tired. Now that his foot had actually connected with the side of Seventeen’s head, he realized that his blast would have.

_ Damn it. _

Now the element of surprise was gone. And he had the collective gazes of both Androids on him. He felt adrenaline begin to pump through his veins, preparing him for what was about to come.

“Correction,” He heard Seventeen say as he pulled himself up from the ruins of his attack, “After  _ today,  _ we won’t have anyone that can bother us.”

“Hey blondie!” he heard Eighteen call to him as she pushed herself off of a broken down car and slowly floated up so that she was hovering at the same level he was, “What do you do at the end of plays? You know when everyone is clapping?”

She began to mockingly attempt to clap with one hand, “Something like that?”

Seventeen’s devious grin returned to his features as he too raised into the sky, staring down Gohan as he did so.

“I gotta agree with my sister here. Real brave of you to come at us after getting handicap parking. I mean, I was gonna say ‘put em up’ but then I realized that doesn’t really work for you now does it?”

Gohan growled at their taunting, but did little else to fuel it. He knew that they were trying to get under his skin, provoke him, make him take the first attack on one of them so that the other could seize the opening and do some damage.

It was a ploy that they’d regularly attempt against him. 

That and Gohan figured that they just liked being assholes.

“Your nightmare ends here.” he declared bravely, “I hope you’re ready to meet your maker.” 

Seventeen let loose a laugh before righting himself and saying coldly, “The only thing that ends here today is you, fire hair.”

Gohan immediately adopted his newly designed fighting stance. Readying himself as the Androids began to slowly circle him, keeping a fair distance as they eyed him with dangerous gazes.

Growling Gohan shouted, “You know you can’t win, you can’t destroy what I really  _ am! _ ” his hand curled into a fist, “Even if you manage to kill this body someone even stronger would surface and take my place!”

“Well then, I sure hope you’re ready to die blondie.” Eighteen said in a malicious tone, “I’ve been in a particularly bad mood this morning, so I’m not going to go easy on you this time!” she called out before the twins rushed towards the Saiyan on either side.

Gohan responded by flying backwards, narrowly avoiding the Androids attacks before golden energy began to fill his hand. Thrusting it forward, he let the energy erupt from him like a raging volcano.

“Not one death will go unaccounted for, not one!” he roared as the energy barreled towards the twins. Seventeen narrowly managed to dodge to the side at the last second, the edges of his torn shirt briefly burning as the tips of his torso touched the beam. Eighteen wasn’t so lucky however as the blast carried her backwards. The girl cried out in pain as she could feel the massive amount of energy burning away at her skin. 

Before Gohan could let loose another attack, Seventeen was upon him throwing out a fist aimed for his nose. Slipping the strike, the fist sailed over his shoulder before he drove his own punch towards the boy’s face. The strike connected, sending the Android back several feet as Gohan surged forward, intent on pressing his advantage.

Striking out with a leg meant for the Androids sternum, Gohan was discouraged to find Seventeen’s forearm placed appropriately to block. Spinning with his other leg, the Saiyan aimed to slam his foot into the boy’s face for the second time today. Much to his dismay the Android ducked beneath the attack before rushing forward and driving a knee into the Saiyan’s gut.

Gohan gagged as he felt his insides register the pain. Clutching his stomach with one hand, he didn’t have time to react as Seventeen raised both arms above his head, lacing his fingers together before spiking the Demi-Saiyan into the ground below.

Gohan’s head connected with a hard piece of cement as he landed. Dizzy, the son of Goku rose to his feet just as he noticed Eighteen rushing towards him with a leg coiled back and ready to strike. 

Her expression was absolutely  _ livid. _

Gohan smirked as he dove to the side at the last minute before grabbing the girl’s leg and swinging her back around. Using her own momentum against her, Gohan slammed the woman directly into the broken asphalt at his feet. Standing above Eighteen, Gohan extended an open palm filled with violent golden energy as he prepared to fire into the woman at point blank range.

Before he could let the energy loose however he felt the side of his face explode with pain as a foot buried itself into his cheek. The Saiyan grunted as he was sent flying to the side, only coming to a stop when a particularly sturdy building obstructed his path. He slumped to the ground after indenting his body into the side of the building.

Groaning, the Saiyan forced himself to his feet as he looked across the carnage that was  _ their  _ doing. Seventeen stood beside Eighteen as she slowly rose to her feet, her tights torn and ripped. 

_ I need to focus! Don’t get carried away with one or the other will get me! _

He told himself as his teeth clenched and he dropped into his one-armed fighting style once more.

Almost as if on cue, the Androids rushed forward. Moving faster than the average man could see, Gohan was forced onto the defensive as he leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding both attacks. Seventeen launched after him clearly growing agitated as he sent a ki blast towards the Saiyan’s chest. The blast was batted away with one hand before Eighteen closed the distance. Gohan realized his mistake immediately as he saw that his one arm had been forced to the side, leaving him totally defenseless.

Before he could respond he felt a fist drive into his cheek snapping his head to the side. Next a knee connected with his chin sending the Saiyan flipping backwards. When he’d finally steadied himself, he saw Seventeen floating just above him, both hands extended with a sinister grin pulling at his lips.

“Sayonara asshole!”

Gohan’s eyes grew large as he saw the glowing energy explode from Seventeen’s hands, colliding with his frame a moment later. Gohan cried out in pain as he felt his skin begin to burn from the immensity of the attack. His body struck the ground a few seconds later, slamming into it with such a force that the impact echoed for several blocks.

The demi-Saiyan grit his teeth as he did his best to push the pain to the back of his mind, attempting to refocus his attention on the fight at hand. Before he could react Eighteen appeared standing over his prone form with her palms aimed at him.

“How about a little taste of your own medicine?” she commented coily as she fired the blast at point blank range.

- _ Eighteen- _

Eighteen smiled in satisfaction as she let the energy loose onto the man. He’d  _ royally  _ pissed her off with that first blast of his, and she fully intended to pay him back for that.

Smoke bellowed out from where she’d fired, the massive explosion producing dust and dark clouds that obscured her vision. She frowned as she stood there, waiting to see the results of her efforts.

_ There’s no way he could have dodged in time. _

She told herself as her eyes narrowed trying to pierce the smoke all around her. Her eyes widened as she caught the faintest glow of an  _ energy shield  _ right in front of her.

_ Shit. _

Before she could raise her arms to block, a punch connected with her nose that sent a splitting headache directly to her brain. Her eyes clasped shut as she stumbled back holding her face.

_ Son of a- _

Before she could even finish the thought she felt her legs swept out from beneath her before the heel of a boot connected with her midsection, driving her into to ground with an  _ unexpected  _ amount of force.

Eighteen growled as she saw blondie standing above her, appearing completely unharmed from her attack.

_ I swear I’m gonna tear out his throat and make him eat- _

Once again the thought was disrupted as a foot caught the side of her hip, and sent her hurtling into the sky.

_ Did he just punt me!? _

She thought with roaring hatred as she quickly righted herself.

Her brother was right next to her appearing equally annoyed.

“Something’s seriously got him peeved today.” He commented.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Eighteen snapped back. 

Their gazes fell on Gohan who was merely looking up at them, defiance written clearly on his features.

“I told you,” as he spoke, he fell into his stance, “the Nightmare ends here.”

_ -Gohan- _

The young man did his best to put on a strong face as he stood glaring defiantly at his two assailants. 

Internally Gohan was doing a mental assessment of his own current state. He’d not taken  _ too  _ much damage just yet. The ki blast had certainly hurt, and his head was still ringing from when he’d slammed into the ground, but otherwise he figured he was more or less in good condition. 

His  _ energy  _ reserves was the real concern.

He’d not spent much, not yet, but it’d taken somewhere around a quarter of his total energy reserves to do what little damage he had managed to deal while also protecting himself from the Androids rampage. 

_ I need to figure out a way to end this, and fast. _

The Demi-Saiyan knew that the longer the battle raged on, the likelihood of his defeat grew larger. He never fully understood where the Androids drew their power from. He couldn’t sense it, and somehow, someway, it never seemed to  _ drain _ . They remained constant at the same pinnacle of their strength at all times. It made any battle that lasted any substantial amount of time with them impossible.

_ ... _ ** _all_ ** _ of our battles have been impossible… _

He thought to himself for a moment before pushing the idea away. He knew that he didn’t have time to doubt himself right now. This moment, in the heat of battle needed to be spent strategizing.

_ ...I’m not gonna get anywhere if I keep trying to play it safe. Right now they’re controlling the pace of the fight, which was always fine for when I was just trying to stall them out.  _

Gohan realized that this stand off they were having was out of a force of habit. This was how their battles always went. There would be an exchange, and if Gohan got the better of them, there would be a pause as the Androids recollected themselves. It benefited Gohan because it gave the fighter a second to breathe while also giving the people he was protecting even more time to run away.

_ Being on defence the entire time isn’t going to get me anywhere. I have to risk it if I want to make any progress. I need to go on the  _ ** _attack_ ** _ . _

Without another thought, Gohan shot forward, pulling back his arm as he prepared a punch.

He noticed the looks of surprise across their faces as he rushed them. It was clear to him that  _ they’d  _ grown used to their routine as well.

Both Seventeen and Eighteen dodged to either side of the man, avoiding the strike as Gohan made his  _ true intentions  _ clear. Opening his palm at the last second, he aimed an energy blast straight into the dusty, ruined ground.

_ Let’s hope this works… _

The resulting explosion kicked a tiny mushroom cloud of dirt into the air, completely obscuring his and the  _ Androids  _ vision.

He knew that he couldn’t sense their energy which made tracking them nearly impossible, but he’d also taken note of the fact that  _ they  _ couldn’t track  _ his  _ energy either.

_ Let’s see if we can’t use that to my advantage… _

He thought as he shot to the right towards where he’d last seen Seventeen. 

_ Seventeen first. He’s the more dangerous of the two. If I can somehow manage to put him down, Eighteen should be easier. _

Gohan told himself this as he blindly struck hoping that his initial tactic had been surprising enough for Seventeen to remain frozen in his position.

Gohan felt his fist make contact with what he could tell was a shoulder.

_ ...not optimal but it’s a start! _

He told himself as he swung with a roundhouse kick towards the Androids head having gained an approximation of where it  _ should  _ be from where he’d felt his shoulder.

He felt the attack connect and Seventeen curse as his head snapped to the side from the force of the blow.

Gohan felt two punches shoot out of the smoke randomly in his direction. The first caught him in the collar bone but the second missed entirely. Upon seeing the second fist begin to retract, an idea popped into the Demi-Saiyan’s head.

_ Let’s see if we can’t put an end to this. _

Reaching out, Gohan caught the hand before it could return to Seventeen’s guard. Normally, Gohan knew that this tactic would be to his disadvantage as it consumed his hand while leaving the opponent with a free fist. But in  _ this _ specific scenario…

Gohan pulled his legs to his chest as he turned his body horizontally. Still clutching the hand tightly, the Demi-Saiyan drove both feet about a foot below the arm.

Directly into where he knew a kidney should be.

It’d been a surprise to Gohan to find out that for one reason or another, the Androids had human-like anatomy, or at least for the most part they did. He’d been surprised the first time he’d kicked Seventeen in the balls only to see the Android back off holding his crotch.

Gohan felt his feet drive into Seventeen’s side before he heard the Android cry out in pain. The struggling hand went limp as he could feel Seventeen keel over coughing from the angle of the wrist he still clutched.

Letting go, the Demi-Saiyan immediately raised his hand to his forehead.

“Masenko…”

Abruptly a ki blast the size of his head sailed past just over his shoulder, followed by another that went off towards his left, and another that flew straight over his golden hair..

_She’s firing randomly at me!__  
_ Before one of the blasts could connect, Gohan threw out his hand where he’d heard Seventeen’s figure crumple to the ground in pain. 

“ **Ha** !”

The world around him turned yellow as an enormous energy wave fled from his palm, colliding with the Android in front of him before immediately carrying Seventeen backward. The twin roared with anger as the golden energy burned at his skin, it’s size so large that it engulfed his entire frame as he was forced back into a building across the road. Upon making contact, the ki blast exploded, decimating the first floor of the structure and collapsing the entire building on Seventeen.

Gohan’s breaths were labored, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly from the exertion. He’d put nearly everything he had into that attack, into that one opportunity.

_ And it  _ ** _worked_ ** _ ! _

He felt a small pang of hope rising in his chest. Maybe he really _could _do this!  
The smoke had blown away from the intensity of his attack, giving Gohan the opportunity to see if his blast had actually managed to do Seventeen in.

He held his breath as he waited to see if the rubble he knew Seventeen to be lying under would shift.

And then he felt something warm on his lower back.

His eyes widened.

_ Shit. _

Looking over his shoulder, he saw the face of Eighteen seething with rage holding two  _ massive  _ balls of energy to his lower back.

“Die already!”

His world went white as the energy overtook him. He could feel his entire body on fire as the twin balls of death expanded and engulfed him. The power behind them was crippling. He could feel parts of his lower back burning away immediately as the blast carried him forward. Forced to obey the whims of the destructive force burying itself into his spine, Gohan cried out in pain before being slammed face first into a broken down cop car.

Then it detonated.

Gohan felt like his entire body was having it’s skin rapidly eaten away, he could feel bones cracking and breaking from the force of the explosion, the heat of the energy burning away his strength and remaining reserves of power.

It’d only lasted an instant, but that instant had felt like an eternity of punishment before the dust cleared.

Gohan was on stomach, his body limp, his thoughts scatters as he laid face first in a daze.

The Demi-Saiyan slowly began to push himself up, his arm trembling from the effort. He managed to rise to a knee before it began to feel too difficult to stand. It was only when he held out his hand in front of him that he noticed his Super Saiyan aura had disappeared.

... _ Damn it… _

He’d messed up. He’d taken a massive gamble and just like before he’d been punished for it.

He could feel that his entire backside was burned providing a constant stinging that made it hard to focus on anything but the pain. The back of his fighting gi was gone in its entirety, the front half of the shirt hanging below his waist revealing a torso lined with scars and wounds. He was bleeding in other areas from the force of the explosion tearing at his skin, the crimson liquid running down the burn marks now covering his back.

_ Just more scars to add to the list… _

He heard feet touch down just behind him. 

“Ouch, I think that’s going to leave a mark.”

Gohan’s eyes shut tight as he heard the voice. 

_ Seventeen… _

The Demi-Saiyan’s fingers curled up into a fist as he felt his frustration overwhelm him. He knew the fight was over. He knew that he’d lost, his power was well below a quarter of what it usually was, not enough to fight the Androids no less. He’d simply been hoping that just maybe his attack had done  _ something  _ to stop the Androids,  _ something  _ to make a difference in this hellscape that was his home.

It was over. He knew it. They knew it. 

He’d lost, and he hadn’t even made a difference. It was as he’d always feared. Throwing caution to the wind in an all or nothing attempt to stop the Androids, and he’d failed.

**Again** .

A slow growl originated from the Saiyan’s throat before he threw his head back in a violent roar of anger. Immediately, he forced his Super Saiyan aura to ignite before rising to his feet, forcing his body to comply despite its protests.

Turning around, he was met with Eighteen and Seventeen standing mere feet away from him. Seventeen’s clothes were in complete ruin, his body looking scuffed and burning in several places, but otherwise, Gohan could tell that he was alright.

Facing these two Androids, Gohan knew that he could no longer win. It wasn’t in the cards. His body was too wounded, just standing was taking up a majority of his strength, his power too taped to achieve anything significant in the fight.

But that didn’t mean he was going to roll over and  _ die  _ for them. There wasn’t a chance in  _ hell  _ that he was gonna make this easy for them.

Raising his hand above his head he formed a weak energy blast that he threw to the ground before moving as fast as his damaged body could manage into the sky.

“Oh come on blondie! We’ve seen this one already!” Eighteen complained as she immediately followed with him, predicting his movement.

Gohan snarled before a fist planted itself squarely in his face, sending him flying back. His burned back scraped against the ground as he landed sending waves of excruciating pain throughout his torso.

Gohan felt his Super Saiyan aura begin to waver, but through pure determination, he forced the power to remain.

**_NO! _**_I’m not done yet!__  
_ Rolling onto his stomach, the wounded man pushed himself back up with one arm. He watched as Eighteen landed next to her twin before the two began to calmly walk towards him menacingly. Their faces read ‘smug’, their body demeanor radiating confidence.

_ They know they’ve won. _

The Demi-Saiyan told himself as he watched them approach. It was clear that they no longer saw him as a threat.

“Let’s finish this, shall we?” Seventeen said in a cold tone. His hands filling with golden energy

_ This is it.  _

Gohan told himself as he widened his stance before pulling his hand to his hip as he’d seen his father do so many times before.

_ Let’s at least make it count. _

“Kame…”

Eighteen’s palms filled with energy as well before the twins raised their hands in unison, standing side by side with confident smiles marking their faces.

“Hame…”

Yellow energy exploded from the two Androids, warping and molding together to form one massive beam of death.

“ **HA!** ”

Gohan threw his hand forward as he prepared to deliver the last of his energy in the form of his father’s signature attack. If he was really going to die as the last of the defenders of Earth, he was going to go out using the attack that their strongest defender had always been known for.

_ I hope I made you proud dad. I’ll see you soon. _

Blue energy exploded from Gohan’s palm with a deafening boom just before the two beams collided with so much force the ground just below their meeting point began to rapidly break away.

Immediately Gohan felt his beam begin to be pushed back. His feet scraped against the damaged asphalt as he was pushed back as well, his teeth gritted as his arm flexed from the strain. It was hard to funnel so much energy into one limb. There was definitely a reason the technique typically required the usage of two arms.

Despite the raging battle of powers going on before him, Gohan’s mind could help but think back to the young man currently sleeping atop the rock they’d been relaxing on only twenty or so minutes before this exact moment.

I’m  _ sorry Trunks. I promise I gave it my all. It’s up to you now. I wish i could have done more to help you before you were left on your own. But this is the way it has to be now. I hope you can forgive me one day. _

Gohan’s eyes closed as he felt his beam be beaten back even further. He didn’t want to die, but he knew when he was beat. He knew that he only had a matter of seconds before the last of his strength would be sapped away and the golden energy would overtake him.

Then he felt it.

It was strange, foreign and yet familiar, like an old friend you’d forgotten about.

_ He felt rage, he felt  _ ** _strength._ **

A guttural **_ roar _**escaped his lips, one full of **frustration **and **hate**, one filled with **years **of **torment **and **pain**. A new pool of energy suddenly revealed itself to him as the new found power exploded from his hand. The force of his wave was enough to drive back the golden beam that had been mere inches away from overtaking him moments before. Suddenly It was Seventeen and Eighteen who were being driven back, their expressions of smugness suddenly shifting to snarls as they were forced to actually _try_.

Gohan’s eyes snapped open, his irises white with rage as he stared down his opponents.His mind fueled by an emotion he was all so familiar with.

** _Anger._ **

** _No! This will not be where I fall! This will not be the end for-_ **

His eyes met with the intense glares from the two Androids, and something in Gohan’s mind snapped.

This wasn’t Raditz fighting his dad and Mr. Piccolo. This wasn’t Vegeta or Nappa when they’d come to Earth for the first time. This wasn’t even Frieza when he was threatening to kill all of his friends.

These were the  **Androids** .

Gohan’s face fell as the realization hit him. The power that had abruptly swelled within him immediately vanished. His hair flickered from gold to black a moment later, his energy all but spent.

This wasn’t an enemy his power could overcome,  _ how could it? _

This was an enemy that wiped out all of his friends one by one before him. 

It was a power that he’d been fighting for over  _ ten years  _ and he had nothing to show for his efforts except  _ failure _ .

_ ...I’m not enough… _

He told himself.

_ I’ve never been enough...I’ve never thought that I could be enough to stop this. I’ll  _ ** _never _ ** _ be enough... _

The realization hit him just as the wave of golden energy did. He could see the snarls on their faces shift to sinister grins as it struck him.

_ I  _ ** _can’t _ ** _ beat the Androids.  _

It was like practice for a play. It was the reason that they’d been surprised when he’d gone in for the attack. They’d all grown accustomed to this little  _ routine  _ of theirs. Gohan had only known the taste of defeat for over ten  _ years  _ of his life to the point that he no longer expected anything else, how could he? It was the reason up until today, he’d no longer fought to win, just to preserve what he could. It was the reason that he’d secluded himself from the world around him, from his mom, from Bulma, from making any  _ true  _ friends.

It was the reason why he’d started to train Trunks in the first place. It was the expectation, it was the only reality he could even  _ see  _ anymore.

Gohan only knew defeat. It was ingrained into his very being, into his very person. Being defeated was his motivation for everything he’d done over the past several years, it was the reason he got up in the morning to train, it was the reason he ate enough to maintain his strength, why he forced himself to try to get better despite the odds. All of it was so that he could confront the Androids and be  _ defeated  _ again.

It was why after that first confrontation, his rage had forever abandoned him. 

He didn’t need  _ power  _ to be defeated.

He could do that all on his own.

Gohan’s eyes closed as he let the energy overtake him, not even attempting to use the very last remnants of energy within his person to try and resist the attack. 

_ This will be the last time. _

He told himself.

_ The last time I’m defeated. _

  
  


_ -Eighteen- _

A confident smile was pulling at the woman’s lips as she watched Gohan’s limp body be blown away from their efforts. She watched as his unresisting form was carried away with their blast, tearing through rubble and debris as it carried him back. His lifeless, battered and burned corpse hitting the ground with a dull thud.

“Ugh, finally.” Seventeen said sounding exhausted, “Seriously was that guy annoying.”

“I know right!?” Eighteen exclaimed with pure elation. Never had a kill felt  _ more  _ satisfying for her.

“Go make sure he’s not still breathing,” Seventeen said with an annoyance to his voice, “Bastard has an annoying habit of surviving whatever we throw at him by the skin of his teeth.”

Without another word the Android began to lift off the ground and fly the other direction.

Eighteen raised an eyebrow, “And where are you going?”

Seventeen grumbled as he paused and looked back at her. He motioned to the shirt dangling off his torso and then to his severely shredded jeans which were struggling to cover up the heart shapes boxers that hung underneath.

“Gotta get a new set of clothes. These are so totally trashed.” he grumbled.

Eighteen could tell he was annoyed. She knew that had been his favorite shirt out of all of their clothes.

But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to tease him.

“Oh? Going  _ shopping  _ instead of enjoying a kill? How very  _ out of the ordinary  _ for you.” she snidely remarked.

Snarling, he snapped back, “I don’t want to hear it! This is nothing like when you disappear for  _ hours  _ when we’re supposed to be spending quality time with each other killing people.”

Eighteen’s eyes were playful as a devious grin pulled at her features, “I dunno,” pointing with one finger towards Gohan’s still form she continued, “I feel like wasting blondie over there is a  _ pretty good  _ way to spend  _ quality time  _ for a brother and sister.”

“Uggghhh!” Seventeen groaned as his head flew back.

“ _ Sigh,”  _ Eighteen began with a shit eating grin on her face, “I guess I’ll just have to finish him off  _ all alone _ now wont I?”

Seventeen stammered, “I-Look I- I just need to-” Growling the boy turned his back on his sister and shot off into the sky, “Just finish him off already okay!”

As the boy flew away, Eighteen noticed that both of his hands were covered a spot on his butt where it seemed both his jeans  _ and  _ boxers had been torn away.

Laughing, Eighteen called out, “Are you feeling a  _ breeze  _ down there?”

“ ** _Shut up!_ ** ”

After half a minute of straight laughing Eighteen finally started to pull herself together and start her walk over towards where not-so-blondie was lying still on the ground.

She was actually really glad Blondie had decided to show up. She’d been feeling super down beforehand, but now she was feeling better than ever and like her old normal self again.

The girl stood above the broken and battered man. He was lying face first on the ground, his entire form unmoving.

“Hmmm, how to check, how to check,” she said coyly as she tapped the side of her cheek with a finger, “Should I check for a pulse?...hmmm oh! I have an idea!”

With a violent kick Gohan’s limp form was sent rolling several feet away until eventually he was on his back.

Eighteen listened intently as she planted the soccer kick straight into his ribcage, feeling several breaks from her efforts. 

She’d heard the quietest of grunts when she’d done so.

_ And this day just keeps getting better and better! _

She thought as her smile grew wider. Blondie was still alive, if only just barely. Like Seventeen said, the man had a habit of surviving by the skin of his teeth, and now  _ she  _ was going to get the chance to kill him.

She’d never gotten the chance to properly  _ toy  _ with Blondie like she so regularly did with the majority of her  _ prey _ . It was something she relished in doing, and the idea that she was about to enjoy the same treat with some who she’d despised for so long was like a  _ gift from Kami. _

Briskly walking back over to where she’d just kicked the man, she lowered herself to a crouch, pulling her knees up to her chest just beside the man’s head.

“Hey wake up!” she said patting his face forcefully, more like a slap, “I need you to be awake for this. Otherwise it’s no fun.”

Gohan’s eyes slowly fluttered open. There was no more fight left in them, no more will to struggle as he looked up at the sky, and then at Eighteen.

The woman smiled as she saw Gohan’s Onyx gaze meet her cold blue ones.

“Excellent!” She said with a sinister smile, “We’re going to have so much fun me and-”

The girl suddenly froze as she continued to stare into the Saiyan’s eyes. There was no fear, no tears or even a look of regret. There was no sadness, nothing that suggested that he was even remotely uncomfortable by her presence.

It was a look that the girl was unused to, it was foreign and unfamiliar from the years of watching people flee terrified from her very presence.  _ That  _ was the look that she was wanting from the man right at that moment. But that wasn’t the look she was receiving. It was a look that discredited the  _ years  _ of carnage and mayhem she and her brother had been responsible for. It spat in the face of all of her deeds, the reputation she’d built through years of murder by delivering the simple message of ‘I’m not afraid of you”. 

Worst yet?

It was a look she recognized.

Her mind raced back to her time at the sports shop, to the man reading the book in the chair. She recalled how he’d looked up at her after holding up a single finger for her to pause. He hadn’t been afraid, intimidated, or nervous. 

He’d looked at her, the exact same way blondie was staring at her now.

Eighteen snarled as she acknowledged that fact.

_ I should have killed that damn old man! I should have blown a hole through his chest the moment I laid eyes on him. I should have slaughtered him the moment he raised that finger for me to wait! _

But she hadn’t. She hadn’t killed him, in fact, she hadn’t wanted to. He’d spoken to her, and she’d slowly started to learn more about the man. She’d  _ wanted  _ to hear his story, more than she’d wanted to kill him.

In that moment, who he was, had mattered to her more than killing him had.

Eighteen  _ hated  _ acknowledging this fact as she grit her teeth, her breathing quickened as her hands curled into fists.

He’d been interesting, he’d been someone to talk to that wasn’t afraid of her. He’d been a person that could  _ relate  _ to her, who could  _ understand  _ her, even if only on a base level. He’d asked about her interests, and he’d even  _ warned her _ , like he’d actually  _ cared  _ about her.

Eighteen snarled as she held the sides of her face with her two hands.

_ SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! _

She screamed in her head as she tried to quiet the racing thoughts tearing through her mind like cars on a highway. It was coming back, the  _ doubt _ . The  _ doubt  _ that that  _ asshole  _ at the sports shop had put there!

_ ...Hercule Satan… that was his name…! _

Her eyes widened. Her though

_ WHY DO I STILL REMEMBER HIS NAME!? HE’S NOBODY! HE’S GARBAGE! HE WAS A COCKROACH UNDER MY BOOT AND NOTHING MORE! _

_Why do I still remember his name!?_ _He’s _**_nobody_**_!_ _He’s _**_garbage_**_! He was a_**_ cockroach _**_under my_**_ boot _**_and_**_ nothing more!_**

Looking down at blondies eyes right now, she saw the look of a man who could see past her aura of intimidation and fear. He could look past everything she could do to try and scare him into begging for his life, look past all the pain she’d done to him, and still not care. He would not fear her, no matter what she did.

Just like the man in the sports shop.

Just like Hercule.

Her hand filled with golden energy before she hovered it inches away from the man’s face. She’d planned to torture him, to pluck his fingers from him and deliver the agony he deserved for annoying she and her brother for so long, but now she just wanted it over and done with.

She watched as the man continued his gaze for a long time, blinking once, before he turned his eyes to look at the sky one last time, before closing them.

_ If I kill him. This doubt will stop. This doubt of everything we’ve done, this doubt of who I am and who I will become. This infernal  _ ** _doubt_ ** _ . I want it gone more than anything else, and I  _ ** _know _ ** _ that this will do it! _

She knew it to be true. This one kill would be her decision. There would be no one else,  _ could  _ be no one else that could have this look about them. There was no one in the world that didn’t fear her. Once she did this, it would all be over.

But…

Eighteen felt her hand waver as her eyes widened.

What if she was wrong? What if what Hercule had said had been right? What if at the end of this long road...she was left with nothing? What if Seventeen really  _ did  _ turn on her once all the fun had been had? They hadn’t aged a day since their transformation, they’d already figured that they were basically immortals. That would give them  _ literally  _ all the time in the world for that outcome to happen. What if it was an inevitability? What if, if she decided to continue down this road, the end of her life would be at the hands of the one person she thought she could trust? The one person in her life that she did love, that did matter to her? She knew that he would never understand if she explained this to him, he would just tell her that he would never turn on her, and that would be that. But that didn’t make it the  _ truth _ . What if she eventually felt the urge to turn on  _ him _ ? What if she was destined to kill her brother one day?

_ What if...what if I’m wrong, and when we’re done doing what we’re doing...I’m left with nothing? _

Her mind flashed back to the moment she’d learned of the man’s name. 

_ Hercule. _

But this time, she didn’t wish that she’d killed him before he’d had a chance to talk. Infact, she wished that he was still alive at that moment. She wished that she could find him, and ask him, and talk to him, and maybe just  _ maybe  _ find a way to resolve this inner turmoil in her mind.

But he wasn’t alive.

He was dead. 

Seventeen had made sure of that.

Eighteen frowned. 

There was no one else, no one else she could talk to about this. She couldn’t just go and find a shrink because they wouldn’t be telling her the truth. They’d be too afraid of her to be honest with her. They’d just tell her whatever they needed to say to ensure that she didn’t blast them and the rest of their puny race to smithereens. She couldn’t talk to Seventeen. He’d just do the same, tell her exactly what she needed to hear so that they would continue their carnage until the potential day came that they killed each other.

She felt trapped in that moment, trapped in a wave of doubt and fear that she couldn’t escape on her own. There was no one that could help her, no one like the man at the sports shop-

Her body froze, the energy in her hand vanishing a moment later.

Looking down, she saw blondie. His eyes had reopened, and he was staring at her, with the same look that Hercule had.

The same...exact… look...

Eighteen felt a rage boil up from the pit of her stomach like no other. Throwing her head back, she roared with frustration before shooting up into the air and disappearing off into the distance.

  
  


_ -Gohan- _

The Demi-Saiyan stared up at the sky, the majority of his nerve endings so damaged that his entire body was almost numb. He’d failed, he’d lost, and yet somehow, someway, he was still alive.

He couldn’t understand why.

She’d been right there, kneeling next to him with enough energy to blow the rest of his body away if she’d wanted to. It would have been easy.

_ So why didn’t she? _

He’d closed his eyes to await the inevitable, only to reopen them half a minute later wondering what was taking the Android so long.

When he’d seen her face, the malicious grin, the narrowed gaze, they were gone. Instead all he could see was ...fear?

She’d looked terrified staring down at him, her hand trembling before the power in her palm had faded away. Then she’d screamed and flew away so fast he’d barely blinked before she was gone.

There were so many thoughts racing through his mind at that moment. But the one that was the most dominant repeated in his mind over and over again with no answers.

_ What just happened? _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

****   
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> A LOT of things were established here, and while I do feel I explained them pretty well within the chapter, I think it wouldn’t hurt to explain it a little here too. 
> 
> The first big thing was Future Gohan’s motivation being ‘defeat’ as I call it. I always questioned why future Gohan had been so weak in the anime. Through Zenkai boosts alone the Saiyan should have grown strong enough to defeat the Androids, it wasn’t until I watched the history of Trunks movie a second time that I realized something. A single line that wrapped it all up for me. It’s a line that he says in canon, and one that I made sure to include in my version of the fight because it basically sums up Future Gohan’s character to a T.
> 
> “You know you can’t win, you can’t destroy what I really am! Even if you manage to kill this body someone even stronger would surface and take my place!”
> 
> That single line, that single dialog of text made me realize that Gohan never expected to win. He fought believing that he would lose. Gohan has never been a dumb character, he understands more than he lets on, with one arm, fighting two assaliants who proved too strong for him even with two arms...there’s not a doubt in my mind that he knew going into the fight that he was going to lose. He never thought he could win against the androids. He fought to protect, but little else. He fought to preserve, but never fought to do more than that.
> 
> This is the way I’ve decided to look at it. Have you ever been playing a game or a sport with an older sibling? A parent, or just someone that was clearly better than you, repeatedly? You get used to the routine after so many defeats. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and you stop believing that you can actually win, that you can actually succeed at this game you’re playing. I’ve seen it when I’m playing tekken with my friend, after a little while he just starts picking random characters because he doesn’t believe he can actually win against me anymore, so he doesn’t really try. He goes through the motions, picks a character, and presses some buttons, but his will to win is no longer there.
> 
> That happens over the time span of a few hours of losses. Humans are creatures of habit, we recognize patterns naturally, and come to expect an outcome if it’s the only outcome that has ever come.
> 
> Now, imagine that repetition, over a time span of ten years.
> 
> It’s no wonder Gohan never defeated the Androids, after awhile he stopped believing he could all together.
> 
> I dunno, maybe I’m onto something, maybe I’m full of nonsense and am making no sense lol. Either way, tell me in the comments. 
> 
> Wait a minute, I still have Eighteen to talk about, crap.
> 
> Eighteen I feel I may have explained better in the chapter, but long story short, her dilemma lies in that she feels that she can trust no one. No one will give her an honest answer, and she can’t come to a decision on her own. She needs someone who is unbiased (or as unbiased as one can hope to get) who wont be absolutely terrified of the girl, or her brother who will just egg her on.
> 
> She wants clarity from the man who instilled this doubt in her in the first place, but that man is gone, and as far as she can tell, Gohan is the closest second she’ll be able to find.
> 
> Again, an interesting concept I hope I did well :) If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider dropping a review. That stuff is what fuels me to go on and write the next chapter ya know? I also respond to all reviews via PM if the review was made by account so, note that your review will be heard!  
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading. It took a long time to write haha.
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Talking With a Monster chapter 3: Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter explores the aftermath of the events of the previous chapter. Characters motivations following what was realized before, understanding and interpreting that message. Enjoy!

_ -Gohan- _

Falling.

He could feel himself falling. The world around him was black as ink as he continued to fall, helpless to the forces as he desperately tried to use his energy to stop his descent. 

He tried, but to no avail as continued to fall deeper and deeper into the strange void. The world around him felt thick like tar against his skin as he rushed towards whatever awaited him at the bottom. He tried to scream, but even that privilege was denied as his efforts were met with silence.

_ What the hell is going on!? _

His mind raced as he could feel his heart beating rapidly. Panic rose in his chest as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes searched desperately for something,  _ anything  _ that could give him even the slightest inclination of what was going on. Scanning through the darkness, his eyes finally landed on something. There was a scene playing out below him, one that he knew, a memory. 

It was old but still clear as he drew closer in his descent. He could see his father and Mr. Piccolo, before he became his friend, fighting his uncle Raditz. He watched as his father, Goku cried out in pain as Raditz delivered a powerful blow to this rib cage. He remembered his tiny hands tightening into small fists in that moment, his small, childlike rage overcoming him as suddenly he didn’t care that he was trapped in this small space craft. He didn’t care that he was just a small child, he didn’t care that he didn’t know how to fight or even provide for himself at a mere four years old. 

He wanted to help his dad. He wanted to stop the bad man from hurting his dad anymore. 

Gohan watched as his younger self exploded from the small pod before colliding head first into the larger Saiyan’s torso. The attack had been primal and raw. He remembered feeling like he’d finally done something to help his dad before promptly being knocked away by his older and meaner uncle.

Gohan reached out to try and grip at the edges of the memory as he drew closer, hoping that maybe if he grabbed it, he could stop this maddening descent.

But the memory flew past him, sailing upward as he continued towards whatever was in store for him at the bottom.

Before he knew it, another memory appeared below. It was hard to make out at first, but as he drew nearer, he could finally see what it was. He was standing up to Vegeta, driving him back with a flurry of blows that the Saiyan Prince was struggling to parry in his injured state. Gohan remembered that fight. It had been during the confrontation against Vegeta and Nappa. He remembered seeing his dad’s broken and beaten body lying prone on the ground and his anger at seeing his dad so hurt overwhelming him. He’d rushed Vegeta, throwing everything he had at the man. He’d managed to hold off the Saiyan elite for a good minute before his fighting spirit faltered, and a fist met the bridge of his nose before an axe handle slammed against the back of his head, sending him into the dirt.

Gohan didn’t try to grab onto this memory as he continued to fall. He already knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop his descent anyway.

Gohan watched as yet another memory came into view. He recognized it right away as he saw the familiar landscape of Namek, its bright green grass and miscellaneous bodies of water everywhere creating a beautiful scenery. It was the fight against Frieza. He’d been watching Piccolo, someone who he considered his mentor and his friend being slowly picked apart as Fieza laughed at his pain. Snarling, the boy rushed the tyrant, burying fist after fist into Frieza’s midsection before slamming him straight into the ground below. Before the Tyrant could recover, Gohan had redirected all the energy he had into his hand before thrusting it down delivering the massive wave of energy straight towards Frieza’s unprepared figure. The enormous orb of energy connected before the tyrant could react, driving into Frieza with all the power of Gohan’s explosive rage. He remembered feeling unstoppable in that moment. He remembered feeling like nothing, not even Frieza mattered in that moment. The only thing that mattered was that he’d stopped his friend, Piccolo from being hurt any more. 

The victory was short lived however as moments after that swell of pride washed over him, Gohan remembered watching his own ball of energy get rebounded back at him, Frieza cackling as he shoved the power straight towards his already exhausted form. Had it not been for Piccolo grabbing him and pulling him out of the way just in time, Gohan figured that he would have likely perished from the attack. The memory continued on as Gohan saw himself and his friends forced back once more, fighting for their lives as they desperately prayed for Goku to arrive soon. 

The dark void pulled him further still as he continued to fall, the memory fading away as he passed it. A frown tugged at the corners of the Demi-Saiyan’s lips as he continued to fall. He knew what was coming next. He’d figured it out after seeing the memory with Vegeta.

The man slowed to a stop as the void suddenly supported his weight, bobing him up and down like a man floating in water. Gohan waited patiently for what he knew was to arrive.

Just as he predicted, two forms stepped out from the darkness just in front of him, as if the darkness itself  _ birthed  _ them from its womb. Android Seventeen and Android Eighteen, each bearing their smug, malicious grins and cold dead gazes. They stared at him for a long time as Gohan stared back. Without warning, the void around him began to fill with color.  _ Dozens  _ of memories surrounded them as the void suddenly vanished. In its place was  _ years  _ of battle, of conflict, of being beaten, burned, savaged, taunted, humiliated and more. Gohan didn’t need to look around him to know what the scenes were playing out. He’d lived through all of it. He knew,  _ all of it _ . It was his past, present, and future. Each of the scenes continued to play out until they all ended with the  _ exact same ending _ . All of the scenes stopped as Gohan fell, as he was crushed to the dirt or forced to retreat. They paused just at the moment that Gohan was left bloody on the floor, slowly pulling himself up and  _ crawling  _ away in a desperate effort to get away from the Androids who’d  _ brutalized  _ him yet again. Slowly, one by one, each scene faded away until Gohan was left floating in the darkness, the two Androids staring back at him unmoving.

Gohan watched as the two figures each raised their hands, pools of golden energy shimmering as it collected within their palms. Gohan closed his eyes and waited, knowing that there wasn’t any other way for this dream to end. He knew that no matter what he did, no matter how hard he fought it, this was his destiny. 

To fall by the hands of the Androids.

The Demi-Saiyan felt golden energy overwhelm him, his body rapidly burning away, deteriorating until there was nothing left.

.

.

.

  
  
  


Gohan’s eyes slowly opened as he was released from the confines of his dream. His eyes slowly scanned the room around him. He could see several I.V’s each attached to him at various parts of his body, pumping precious life fluids into him as his pulse announced itself in low beeps from the machine next to him. His body still hurt. It hurt more than it had hurt in a long, long time. But it was hardly the most hurt he’d ever felt in his life. 

_ This hardly compares. _

He thought to himself as he registered the copious amount of bandages that covered the majority of his body. He took a mental assessment of how clean they felt, using it as a gage for how long he’d been out from the amount of blood they’d collected. He’d developed a knack for guessing how long he’d been out after an encounter with the Androids after so many times.

_ They’re mostly dry...so...around three or four days maybe? A week at tops. _

Gohan concluded as he scanned the room. He was back at Bulma’s of course, too risky to have him hold up at a legitimate hospital. The Androids might go looking for him there if they knew he was still alive, which they definitely did because-

His thoughts stopped as he was brought back to that moment just before his collapse. He remembered watching Eighteen stare down at him with a frightened...or maybe nervous expression? He’d never seen  _ either  _ of them wear an expression like that before. Usually it was an annoyed sneer when he got the better of them and actually got a hit in, or a malicious grin as they succeeded in inflicting him with a wound that would leave the young man with yet another marking scar to remind him of his continuous  _ defeat _ .

The Demi-Saiyan let out a slow sigh as he pushed the thought away. He’d much rather focus on what happened in those final moments of their exchange. He’d thought for certain that this had been it, that this exchange would mark his final moments.

_ So why am I still here? Why am I still alive in this makeshift hospital room? _

It made no sense to him, what would be the reasoning behind letting him  _ live? _ And why the face? Why had she’d appeared so... _ mortified _ at that moment? None of it made sense to the young Saiyan as he let his head sink further into the mostly white pillow it occupied. 

“What the hell happened to me out there?” he quietly asked himself, his mind searching for answers as he reflected over their fight. Had he triggered a malfunction somehow? He tried to think of all of the attacks he’d managed to actually connect with the female Android. As far as he was concerned, none of them were out of the ordinary for their typical battle. He’d kicked her in the head  _ dozens  _ of times, blasted her away  _ dozens  _ of times. It didn’t make sense that  _ this time  _ for some reason, it could have led to the girl malfunctioning at such a critical moment.

Oh...could it have been...that she was used to their routine too? Was it possible that he wasn’t the only one stuck in this song and dance of rinse, and defeat? Could it have been possible that after so long of kicking his ass, of torturing, battering, and brutalizing him, she couldn’t go through with actually finishing him?

_Like I’m their own personal punching bag...but be careful! He might break!__  
_ Gohan scowled at the thought. It disgusted him to think that was what he’d become for those monsters. He finally understood it all. In what he’d thought would be his final moments, it’d finally all clicked for the young Demi-Saiyan. The reason why he could never destroy them even after all these years, why he’d never been able to turn the tides or even put just _one _of them down. 

_ I want to lose...I  _ ** _need _ ** _ to almost. It’s who I am at this point. It’s my identity, my name. It’s what I’m best known for. The ‘Golden Fighter’... the man who  _ ** _loses _ ** _ to the Androids on a regular basis. _

Gohan was all too familiar with how the newspaper articles treated him. Sure, there were plenty of people who thought he was a hero. A warrior who had the power to  _ challenge  _ the monsters that so often terrorized this world. Ofcourse, there were also the  _ thousands  _ of people who hated him. Hated him because he could never actually get the job done. For all the effort he put in, for all the sacrifice he suffered, he never actually  **stopped ** the Androids destruction. Sure, he delayed it, and he saved the people that he could amidst their rampages, but he never  **stopped ** it.

His arrival rarely brought cheers from the people who saw him anymore. His arrival didn’t  _ mean  _ anything anymore. People saw him, they recognized him, and knew that he was ultimately just as helpless as the rest of them. He was just as stuck in this nightmare as the rest of them were, helpless to suffer the Androids misdoing and evil just like the rest of them.

To many, he was a false hope. A false hero that only served to lead people on. His very presence, his very existence was a  _ lie  _ that things would get better. It was a brother telling his dying younger sibling that he was going to make it, that he was going to pull through when he clearly wasn’t. Sure, it was a pleasant lie, it made people feel better to believe it, but it was a lie all the same. 

It was a fact that Gohan knew all too well. And he  ** _hated _ ** himself for it.

Gohan’s eyes lazily studied the ceiling tiles above him, his mind processing all that he’d come to terms with during his last fight against the Androids. He understood his problem now. He understood  _ why  _ he couldn’t beat the Androids, why he so consistently  _ failed  _ in his efforts to stop this nightmare, but that didn’t change anything. 

Just because he understood the issue, didn’t mean that suddenly solved the matter.  _ Knowing  _ that he didn’t believe in himself, or believe that he could actually win against the Androids didn’t suddenly mean that the power to stop them was there. An alcoholic who realized that he had a drinking problem didn’t abruptly stop drinking just because he understood that he had a problem.

_ But it’s a step _ .

He admitted to himself. It was a step in the right direction. But now…

_ Now I need to figure out the next step. _

If you were an alcoholic, there were groups that you could go to. If you were addicted to cigarettes, there were nicotine patches you could try. What did you do when you were stuck in a loop of getting savagely beaten by two monsters that had enough power to decimate the planet? He doubted there were meetings for people suffering from that condition.

Gohan scowled at himself, sarcasm wasn’t going to net him anything but spite towards himself. He doubted self hatred would lead him anywhere but back towards the doubt that led to all of his failures.

_ I need to think differently, I need to focus on what I can do to stop all of this.  _

His mind pushed back to the fight, to when he had finally gotten an edge on the Androids, when he’d finally delivered what he’d foolishly thought would be a decisive strike in the battle towards Androids Seventeen after-

His eyes widened in realization.

_ After I’d gone on the offensive! _

It’d been a shock for both the Androids and himself. He remembered seeing their surprised expressions as he’d rushed them, doing something that he’d rarely if  _ ever  _ did in his battles against them. Typically, he would fight smart, reduce his risks and fight defensively recognizing that he was at a disadvantage with it being two fighters against one. He would wait for an opening, protecting himself until one of them would make a mistake and then he’d capitalize on it. Driving a knee into their sternum after dodging an attack or blasting one away when the other grew too far to interrupt his attack, but rarely would he do more than that. 

Gohan was used to playing defensively, punishing them for their mistakes and nothing more. They were used to it too, used to being on the attack and controlling the flow of the battle.

When he’d rushed forward, when he’d gone on the offensive for the first time in he didn’t know how long, it’d been a break from the norm, a new variable in this well rehearsed routine of theirs. But it alone wasn’t the answer. Gohan knew that if he went into battle again with the assumption that he just needed to go on the offensive, he would lose just like he always did. It was more than that, it was more than just the way he fought.

_ It was a change from the way I perceive things, a change in the way I perceive the Androids. For just a moment, it marked a change in how I view  _ ** _myself_ ** _ . _

It’d been a small adjustment of his attitude born out of desperation. In that moment, He doubted that he could fight the Androids as he normally did since now he only had one arm. It’d forced him to think  _ differently  _ and try something  _ new _ . His mouth felt dry as he remembered something that he’d initially overlooked.

_My rage! That swell of power I always saw as a kid! It came back!__  
_ If only for the briefest of moments, he’d felt his power swell and his **_rage _**overwhelm him. It’d returned to him, if only for a moment to help him resist the Androids for seconds longer than he normally could have. Looking back on it now, it only served to hammer in the point further.

_ I need to think differently! I need to break this... _ ** _routine_ ** _ I have with the Androids in every way I can think of. I need to view myself, the world,  _ ** _everything _ ** _ in a different light...and then maybe, just maybe I’ll be able to finally put a stop to the Androids. _

A smile pulled at his lips. For the first time in a long time, he felt confidence in himself, for the first time in a long time, he felt  _ hope. _

He didn’t know exactly how he was going to stop it. He didn’t know exactly how he was going to break free from this curse of self-doubt and routine, but he understood what needed to be done if he wanted to rise above this and finally become the hero the world so desperately needed.

_ I can do this. I can become more than I am. _

The man’s gaze slowly turned to where his left arm would be,  _ should  _ be. He’d recognized it as a detriment for all this time. Every time he’d seen himself in the mirror it’d been a reminder of his mistake, a constant reminder that he had  _ failed. _ But now, it had accidently led him towards discovering a new avenue towards his own success. The Androids had mistakenly given him the answer that he needed to their defeat by taking it away. It had been a new variable, a new piece to this routine that hadn’t been expected.

A bright, confident smile had spread across the Saiyan’s face as he sat there in bed. He’d seen bringing Trunks to that carnival as a risk, and his mistake. But now that he understood this about himself, now that he saw it for what it really was, he realized that he  _ needed  _ this injury for him to finally wake up, to finally realize what the problem was.

Almost as if on cue the windowed door opened to exactly the face he wanted to see.

“Trunks!” Gohan almost shouted as he saw the boy. The elder Saiyan was grinning ear to ear, happier than he’d been in a long time.

The young teen startled at his name, the two I.V replacement bags falling from his arms as he jumped. His shocked expression suddenly lit up as he saw his friend and mentor awake!  
“Gohan! You’re finally up!”

Gohan nodded smiling, “I am! And I realize now that I need to thank you!”

Trunks paused, his mouth agape, “...for replacing your I.V bags?” he asked questioningly. It was clear by the look on his face that the boy was confused.

Gohan chuckled before shaking his head, “No, no, not that. I need to thank you for coming along with me to fight the Androids that one time at the amusement park. Losing my arm was probably the best thing that ever happened to me!”

The frown that pulled at Trunks’s face made Gohan realize that did  _ not  _ come out the way he’d intended it to. 

Trunks’s eyes immediately shifted downward, “I...look, I know it’s my fault you lost your arm and I’m sorry. If I hadn’t been there-”

“No, no, no!” Gohan waved his hand in a dismissing manner realizing what it’d sounded like he’d been saying. From the tone in his voice Gohan guess the boy thought he’d been sarcastic and was actually blaming him for the injury, which he was, but not in the negative light Trunks was seeing.

“Ah, shoot it’s kinda hard to explain.” Gohan grumbled to himself as he raised his arm and rubbed the back of his head, “But, I’m really not mad. I was for a time, but I’m realizing now that I...look.” he sighed bringing his arm down and meeting Trunks’s gaze with an easy smile, “I know it doesn’t make any sense, but trust me when I say that I needed this injury to finally think straight. Thank you Trunks. You don’t realize it now, but you might have just opened the door to ending this nightmare for good.”

Trunks opened and closed his mouth several times to respond, but the look of confusion written on the boy’s face was even  **more ** defined than it had been moments earlier.

“Are...you serious?” 

Gohan couldn’t contain his laughter, “I am. Trust me when I say that I’m being honest.”

Trunks studied the man for a short time looking puzzled. 

After a few moments he shrugged as said, “I mean, if you say so.”

Gohan nodded before noticing Trunks’s expression suddenly shift from one of delight, to one of anger.

Raising an eyebrow, Gohan began, “What’s the mat-”

“You went  **without ** me!” Trunks abruptly shouted. 

Gohan’s mouth went dry.

_ Crap, I totally forgot about that.  _

“I can’t believe you lied to me like that!” The boy complained as he crossed his arms.

Gohan stayed quiet for several seconds before sighing, “I’m sorry Trunks. I know it was wrong to lie to you like that. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t know if you would listen to me and stay out of the fight.”

“You almost  **died** !” 

“And you could have too if you’d come along!” Gohan raised his voice to match Trunks, his eyes giving the teen a hard look, “If you came then we might not be having this conversation right now!”

The rage Trunks had felt died in his throat as his shoulders slumped. The fire in his eyes dissipated as his gaze lowered. Gohan sighed watching the boy. Gohan knew that Trunks wasn’t dumb, he understood that he wasn’t powerful compared to he or the Androids, he knew that he couldn’t stop the Androids on his own.

But that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to help. 

Gohan could relate to that feeling, that desire, no- **need ** to help those in danger. The boy couldn’t stop himself from helping those in need, and Gohan couldn’t fault him for that. He was the exact same way.

“Trunks.” he said in a softer tone, an easy, fatherly tone, “I know you want to help. I’m proud of you for that. I’m proud of you for more than you know. But that doesn’t change the fact of the matter that you aren’t ready yet.”

Trunks slowly pulled his gaze from the floor to meet Gohan’s, “...but if I’m not ready now...when will I be ready?”

Gohan tried to give the boy the most reassuring smile he could muster, “Soon Trunks. I promise, soon.” and this time, he believed it.

  


_ -Eighteen- _

She was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, her motivation to do something,  _ anything,  _ entirely depleted. She felt disgusted with herself. Disgusted that she felt this  _ doubt  _ in the first place, disgusted that she’d let a pathetic  _ human  _ of all things get in her head and absolutely  _ disgusted _ that she’d let  _ Blondie  _ **live.**

She’d returned after an hour of debate with herself, intent to finish the job if the job still needed finishing. She’d half expected Blondie’s corpse to be still laying there, dead having expired by himself without the proper medical attention.

But of course, in typical fashion just as Seventeen had said, the man had managed to get away. He’d survived  _ again  _ by the skin of his teeth. 

And worst yet, this time it was entirely her own fault.

“God damn it all.” She quietly whispered to herself. Rolling over, she layed on her stomach her face now buried in one of the several pillows littering the bed. It’d been a young teen’s room most likely, that would explain all the frills. She’d called dibs on it a few weeks ago after she and Seventeen exploded the car driving into the lot. Luckily it seemed they’d gotten the whole family in the carnage leaving little clean up on their end when they took over the house. She always hated when they had to kill the family inside and drag out their corpses, it always left blood stains on the carpets and she hated that. Very annoying to look at all the time when you’re just trying to relax after a long day of killing, like looking at work files after you get home from a long shift.

Eighteen scowled at herself for getting so off topic. Thinking back to the moments before she’d left Blondie to  **live** , she realized what she’d done.

She’d made her decision. For her, there was no going back, not until this infernal  **doubt ** was resolved. She had to make sure that one way or another, she knew what she was doing was right...well not ‘right’ in the moral sense but in the sense that she wasn’t going to die by her brother’s hands in a century or two.

She understood her problem now, understood what the issue was but was left uncertain of what she needed to do to solve it. Knowing that she had a problem didn’t automatically solve the problem. A smoker who realizes that he has a cigarette problem doesn’t suddenly stop smoking just because he understands that he has an addiction.

She only had one idea that she kept returning to over the five days after she’d come to her discovery. The only problem was that she absolutely  _ hated  _ the idea and what it entailed.

One way or another, she needed to talk to Blondie.

The woman snarled immediately at the very  _ idea  _ of coming to that annoying  _ rodent  _ for help. She couldn’t even  _ picture  _ herself actually talking to man when all she wanted to do was blow a hole through his chest.

_ Who’s to say he’d even talk to me? There’s not a chance in hell that he would take a second to actually speak to me and consider both sides of my dilemma without drilling into me with a blast or punching me with his  _ ** _one _ ** _ fist. _

The woman snickered at her own joke before a frown pulled at her features. Despite her complaining, despite not honestly knowing how she could achieve it, she needed his opinion on the matter. She needed someone who could somehow relate to her and her brother’s position. Someone who didn’t fear her, someone who had power like she and her brother did to ask, and as far as she could tell, Blondie was it.

They’d killed anyone else who could truly relate to them in any real sense of the word. That had happened  _ years  _ ago. Everyone that was left were weak and useless, Blondie had been the only person to ever stand up to them in any meaningful way and was still around to talk about it despite their best efforts. As far as she could tell, he was the only person she could go to to resolve this doubt plaguing her.

_ The only problem is how the hell do I get him to do that? _

Eighteen had been laying atop her bed for days coming up with plans that could potentially lead to her answer.

As far as she could tell, none of them were good.

“Fuck!” She snapped as her hands went to the side of her face out of sheer frustration. If you were an alcoholic, there were groups that you could go to. If you were addicted to cigarettes, there were nicotine patches you could try. What did you do when you couldn’t decide between having fun killing the rest of the human race or ending your fun and  _ not  _ killing the human race after a decade of the practice? Not only that, but the only person she could reasonably trust the opinion to help her decide quite  _ literally  _ wanted her and the only person she’d ever loved dead.

She doubted there were meetings for people suffering from  _ that  _ condition.

“You good sis?” She heard her brother call out from the other room. She could hear him still enjoying the game system the son had owned prior to his death. Eighteen was pretty sure it was a shooter based on the steady stream of recorded gunfire she could hear. 

She had to admit that it sounded damn close to the real thing.

“Peachy!” She hollered back annoyed as she pushed herself off the bed and onto her feet, “I’m going out!” she yelled as she grabbed her boots and exited the room. She was tired of sitting in her room waiting for a solution to hit her. It was time to take one of her shitty plans and put it into action. 

_ Who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and find out that Blondie is a gullible fool. _

She had to admit that her opinion of the man was low enough to believe that, but she wasn’t naive enough to really consider the thought true.

“You going out to kill stuff?” she heard the game pause as he awaited a response. Whenever they went out to kill people, it was always wise to go together since recently Blondie had started to get strong enough that just one of them might struggle to put him down for the count, so whenever they went out-

“Oh wait a minute! Blondie’s dead! Never mind!” Seventeen laughed before returning to his game.

Eighteen blinked.

_ Oh, right. _

Not wanting to face his wrath or quandary about  _ why  _ she hadn’t killed him, Eighteen had lied and told her brother that she’d vaporized the blonde nuisance the moment he’d left to get new pants. 

“Just going out to shop!” Eighteen lied as she pulled on her boots. She realized then that if things went south, she would be on her own facing down Blondie. The thought unnerved her, but she was  _ not  _ willing to go back to her room and sit around for another week debating with herself. 

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in before letting it out in a slow sigh. She had a plan...a  _ bad  _ plan but a plan nonetheless. 

“Let’s do this.” she whispered under her breath as she shot into the air.

  


_ -Trunks- _

His hands burned as the intensity of the ki blast before him licked at his face and eyes. Sweat dripped from his chin as he was driven back from the attack, his feet digging into the dry ground as he slid back. For a moment, the boy feared that the attack would overwhelm him, his arms trembled from the amount of strain being forced upon them. A deep, guttural cry forced its way out from his lips as his eyes clamped shut, his entire focus dedicating itself to resisting the golden energy threatening his very lively hood.

_ C’mon Trunks! You  _ ** _can do this_ ** _ ! _

He thought as he searched deep within himself for the energy to force the blast back. After several moments of uninterrupted exhaustion and concentration, he found it. His eyes flashed open as an orb of energy slowly began to develop from his extended palms, creating a small separation from the blast and his now aching hands. 

A brief moment of relief flooded the young man as the palms of his hands finally received the alleviation they’d so desperately needed. 

_Stay focused! It’s not over yet!__  
_ He thought to himself as he let the rest of his energy surge forward, persuading the small ball of Ki in his hands to grow larger as the intensity of the threatening blast was forced back. 

A moment later, Trunks roared as he released the energy built up into a powerful attack that challenged the Ki before it in a blinding flash. Trunks breathed in ragged gasps as he stood there watching his power challenge the Ki blast, his shoulders slumped, his power completely drained.

After a few seconds of rivaling contact, his attack pushed through, annihilating the challenging beam in a bright explosion. Dust flew into the air as he stood there, barely able to maintain a standing position. 

A moment later, the boy collapsed to the ground.

.

.

.

Trunks jerked awake before raising his head in a startled awareness. His alert eyes scanned all around him, before he relaxed remembering where he was. Leaning back, he sat on the hard dirt, ignoring the dust and rocks that had taken refuge in his otherwise lavender hair.

Deserted wasteland stretched for as far as the eye could see. The only structures available for miles were big rocks, massive fissures in the ground, and even more big rocks.

Trunks decided he wanted to claim a rock today.

The boy slowly lifted himself to his feet feeling somewhat refreshed from his nap.

_ I passed out didn’t I? _

Trunks frowned as he walked towards the large boulder roughly twice his height. He hadn’t wanted to knock himself out today. He’d been training with a technique that Gohan had showed him weeks earlier. It was a technique the elder Demi-Saiyan implored himself, a trick he’d figured out worked well if you were training by yourself.

He would fire off a ki blast, usually as strong as he could muster, before willing it to turn back around and slam straight into him, threatening to overtake him as he did his best to muster enough power to force it back. Simple in design, but the training was  _ intense _ .

It forced Trunks to practice so many different aspects of battle that he was impressed that such a simple exercise could do so much. First, it forced him to practice expanding his energy into one massive attack, a skill essential for victory. Next, it had him practice his energy manipulation as he had to will it to redirect itself which was trickier the more energy you put into the attack. Lastly, it forced him to focus under intense situations as the blast collided with him, forcing him to divide his concentration between resisting the energy blast and forming his own to eventually push it back.

Trunk slumped against the side of the rock using its shade as a welcomed relief from the hot sun setting over the horizon. After he’d ended his visit with Gohan, he’d immediately gone back out to train. Training had been consuming all of the young man’s time over the past several days. 

Trunks didn’t particularly like training, especially training alone, but every time he thought about quitting and taking a rest, his mind raced back to a few days ago, to the image of Gohan lying there on the broken asphalt, his body bruised and burned. He remembered watching Gohan’s critical condition as the man fought to stay alive with each raggad, strained breath. Trunks had honed in on the noise as he picked him up as delicately as he could and raced to get back to his mom in time. Every time the Demi-Saiyan exhaled, Trunks remembered his body trembling in fear that he’d just listened to his friend’s last breath.

Trunks remembered the swell of  _ fear  _ that had bubbled up in his chest in those moments. The nerve racking sensation that had fueled his entire flight home. He’d kicked the door down when he’d finally arrived at the house, not willing to spend the precious seconds it would take to unlock and open the door the normal way. He’d known that his mom would likely chew him out for that, but in the moment he hadn’t cared. 

He’d hated it, the fear, the nervousness, the anxiety and most of all the  _ shame _ . 

_ It’s my fault,  _

He thought to himself.

_ It’s my fault it happened. _

How could it not be his fault? Had he been stronger, Gohan would have brought him along. Had he been stronger, Gohan would  _ trust  _ him to aid him in his fight against the Androids. Had he been stronger, Gohan wouldn’t be lying in bed right now recovering from yet another series of life threatening wounds that would scar his body forever. 

_ Had I been stronger, this nightmare would be over right now. _

But he wasn’t stronger, right now, he was still  _ weak. _

All because he couldn’t go Super Saiyan.

His fingers curled into fists as he scowled. Pushing himself to his feet, the boy prepared himself to attempt the transformation yet again. He’d been trying every day now, pushing his body to his absolute limit before trying to break through that invisible wall that separates him from  _ saving the world. _

Growling, the teen closed his eyes as he began to focus.

_ This time. This time  _ ** _for sure_ ** _ . _

He told himself as the air began to swirl around him. A powerful white aura enveloped him before slowly expanding as his power continued to grow. 

Gohan’s words repeated over and over in his mind as he began to focus, letting the world around him fade away to obscurity. 

Concentrating, the boy blocked out every other sense until there was nothing left but he, and his mentor’s instructions.

“ _ Imagine all the lives that the Androids have taken!” _

His mind filled with the countless bodies he’d found in the aftermath of the Androids rampage. He’d seen so much of it. He’d seen so many bodies. So many times would he be digging through the rubble desperately trying to save the people who’d been trapped within the building moments before its collapsed. Then he’d reach them, only to realize he’d been too late. 

It was jarring to see a corpse, the figure of a person and know that the soul that had once inhabited that body was no more. It was a concept he was all too familiar with now.

Death.

He’d seen so much of it. 

And it was  ** _never ending_ ** _ . _

“ _ Imagine your mother at the mercy of the Androids!” _

The boy grimaced as his mind shifted to a different scene. He could see his mother, Bulma lying dead at the feet of those  ** _monsters_ ** . He could imagine it, them taking from him what they’d already taken from so many others. He imagined that if the world was like him, a Saiyan, or at least half of one, so many others would have already risen up and stopped these  **abominations** . Just picturing his mother dead, the woman who fed him, who cheered him up when he was feeling down, who nurtured and  **loved ** him could perish to the Androids was enough to form tears at the corners of his eyes. It pained him to even think of it, and knowing that image in his head could come true tomorrow, that it could become his reality, that it was becoming  _ thousands  _ of peoples reality  _ every day _ was more than the boy could take.

A violent, primal roar exploded from the young Demi-Saiyan’s mouth as he felt himself begin to slip. He could feel it now, a tingling sensation that was slowly attempting to spread across his entire body. He could feel his hair beginning to lift from his scalp, raising towards the sky just as Gohan’s did when he transformed.

Trunks tightened his focus as he felt the transformation take hold. He  _ had  _ to get this right this time, or even  _ more  _ people would suffer the reality that kept him up at night. No one should have to suffer the loss of someone so precious, someone so essential to their life.

And yet it happened **_every time_** the Androids struck.

And he could stop it.

If he succeeded, right here, right now, then he could stop the endless suffering. He and Gohan could finally put an  **end ** to the madness. All he had to do was  ** _transform_ ** _ ! _

_ Please!  _

He pleaded, tears running down his cheeks.

_ Please let me transform! Please let me end this! I want it more than anything! I want to become  _ ** _more!_ ** _ I want to become the person that the world  _ ** _needs _ ** _ from me! _

His mind moved on. As he felt himself bordering on the brink of ascension, he replayed that last piece of Gohan’s message to try and inspire him to transform.

_ “Imagine that if you don’t step up right here, right now and become a Super Saiyan, then everyone you know and love is going to die!” _

The teen didn’t have to imagine it. It was his reality. Trunk knew that if he didn’t transform, if he didn’t ascend to the legend that was the Super Saiyan, that it was only a matter of time until they found him and his mom. They’d already wiped out so many settlements to the point that only four remained, and only recently South City had fallen victim to the same treatment. He and his mom had gotten lucky so far, but eventually, that luck would run out. Eventually, be it happen chance or the Androids deciding to hunt him down, they would find him and his mother.

When that day came, if he wasn’t a Super Saiyan, they would slaughter his mom, and then himself.

He couldn’t let that happen.

The roar that raged out of Trunks’s mouth was deeper and more sincere than it had ever been. His mind flashed with the image of Gohan, lying defeated and bloodied on the ground before him, knocking on death’s door. They’d nearly taken him away from the boy too.

_ All because I’m  _ ** _too weak!_ **

He felt like he was surrounded by flames as he stood there, his entire body tense, blood dripping from his fists from his nails digging into his palms, but he didn’t care. It felt good to hurt at that moment, because it was only a  _ fraction  _ of all the suffering the world was forced to endure every waking hour.

All the fear, all the anguish, all the  **pain** . He could stop it, he  **Trunks Briefs ** could put an end to it all!

_ If I.  _ ** _just. Transform!_ **

He wanted it more than anything else. He could feel it, the aura, the strength, the power, it was all just at his fingertips, he’d never been closer in his life when-

His mind went white as his knees buckled. The teen’s concentration evaporated as he crumpled to the ground on his hands and knees. His body trembled, exhausted from the effort. Tears continued to race down his cheeks as he began to process what just happened.

“...no…” Trunks stared at the ground in disbelief. He stared at his hand, it had no glow to it. There was no Super Saiyan aura surrounding him.

“ **NO!” ** He bellowed as he slammed fist after fist into the ground. He’d been denied  _ again _ . Taunted with it’s power  _ again _ . He’d been so close! So close to ending the nightmare! Only for it to be thrown back into his face, reminding him yet again that he wasn’t good enough.

_ I’m so pathetic. I’m so weak!  _

The young man told himself as he shut his eyes, unable to stop the tears from running down his face. He didn’t want the power for himself, he didn’t want to become the strongest there ever was, he just wanted to become strong enough so that he could  ** _help_ ** . It was all he ever wanted to do. He only ever wanted to  ** _help_ ** . To be...something,  _ anything  _ that could help the people of the world. 

_ ...I’m a failure. _

He felt like a failure. A failure to his mom, to Gohan, to all the people that the Androids had already claimed and all the people that they would in the future. He was their hope, and he’d  _ failed  _ them…again.

His senses expanded to stretch out and feel the world around him. He could sense all of their life energies. He could sense Gohan asleep in his bed, he could sense Bulma working on one of her many projects, he could sense everyone else that didn’t know it yet, but should be disappointed in him.

“...I’m sorry…” he quietly whispered as he rose to his feet. His shoulders slumped as he began to raise into the sky. He was done for today.

_ I’ll try again tomorrow. I can’t give up. No matter what I can’t give up. _

He’d be back there again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. He would return, he would get stronger, he would improve until eventually he grew strong enough to achieve the form, to become the legendary Super-

The boy’s head snapped up as he felt something. Turning, he focused his senses, recollecting himself so that he could be certain that what he’d just felt had been real.

_ That direction, North City. two hundred energy signatures just...disappeared! _

But they hadn’t ‘disappeared’. The boy knew that much. They’d been snuffed out, extinguished, and he knew the culprit.

Gritting his teeth the boy thought,

_ Already!? The Androids are attacking  _ ** _already_ ** _ !? It’s hardly been a week!  _

Trunks snarled in the direction he’d felt the attack. They were helpless down there! He knew Gohan wouldn’t be healthy enough to fight for at least another couple of days until Korrin could finish with the next batch of Senzu beans. Until then...there was no one to stop the Androids.

_ ...unless… _

Trunks began to consider his options. Filled with anger and hate he could only see the looks of terror on the women and children’s faces as they helplessly fled from the Androids. The sounds of screams being cut short as Seventeen and Eighteen snuffed out life after life.

He knew what Gohan would say. He knew that he would tell him that he wasn’t ready, and deep down the boy knew it to be true. He knew he wasn’t ready. He knew that if he showed up without being able to go Super Saiyan, it would be a death sentence.

He hadn’t even noticed he’d been flying in the direction of North City until he paused in realization.

_ What if this is it? What if  _ ** _this _ ** _ could send me over the edge? _

It was a risky idea. It was a foolish idea at best and likely one he had to admit was being fueled by his rage, but he didn’t care. He’d just gotten closer to transforming than he’d ever been. Gohan had always described the transformation as a combination of two things, rage, and  **need** . Gohan had told him that he’d only transformed after watching all of his friends die around him, before that Goku had transformed only after Frieza had blown up his best friend. They’d both  ** _needed _ ** to transform then, to try and stop the monster that had wronged them past their breaking point. 

_They all had that moment, that moment when there was nothing else they could to but become the legend...I need that moment...I need that final push!__  
_ Without another doubt the boy took off in the direction of North City. He knew he had the rage, he had it in handfuls. In that moment, all he could see holding him back was a _need _for that power. If he put himself in a situation where if he didn’t transform everyone including himself was going to die, he’d have to transform!

...right?

The boy didn’t have any time to doubt himself as he pushed to his top speed flying towards where he knew the Androids to be.

_ This ends  _ ** _now!_ **

He grit his teeth.

_ It has to. _

_ -Eighteen- _

  


_ That should do it. _

She thought lazily to herself as she sat bored across from the building she’d just leveled. It’d been around five or 6 floors tall, she guessed that would be enough people for Blondie to notice her. She’d never understood how, but no matter where she and her brother would attack, if their kill count got too high Blondie would show up. They’d gotten it down to a science at one point. 

_ One hundred seems to be the magic number… _

She idly thought to herself as she sat atop the ledge of the eight story building looking down at all the terrified faces below. She could hear people screaming and crying as they tried their best to process what just happened.

_ You’d think they’d get used to it by now. _

She quietly thought to herself. It had been over ten years now, you’d think that they’d start to get used to people dying like how her brother and she had. But nope, every time without fail they’d scream and cry and run like  ** _that _ ** would somehow deter her and her brother from killing them. If anything the annoying noise only encouraged them to end their miserable lives.

The woman growled in annoyance as she listened to their cries of terror. It was taking everything she had  _ not  _ to blow them all away with a sweep of her hand. That would be all it took too. She could just form a simple beam in her hand, making a sweeping motion and-

Eighteen shook her head as she rid herself of the thought.

_ No, no, I need him  _ ** _not _ ** _ to attack me when he gets here. If I start killing left and right, there’s no way he won't be at my throat. _

Well, there was that reason, and the fact that killing the people in the building…

It hadn’t been fun.

Just like the man in the rubble a week ago, it hadn’t been as satisfying as it’d been two weeks prior. Sure, she could do it without batting an eye, she felt no guilt for slaughtering such helpless prey, but it’d lost its luster ever since she’d spoken to that man in the sports shop. It was as if she were flying to a mountain top without reason, without motivation. Sure, she could do it, she could do it easily in fact...but that didn’t mean that it was enjoyable. 

The woman sighed with a frown.

_ Enough of that crap, Blondie will be here any minute. _

Her head turned all around her expectantly, hoping enough time had gone by for him to show up. 

He hadn’t.

The woman sighed once more as she pulled a knee up to her chest, letting the other leg dangly precariously off the edge. She was wearing some simple tights and a T-shirt now. She hadn’t really wanted to dress up for a man she  _ despised. _

She’d strategically chosen to land in the dead center of the city. She knew that Blondie  _ valued  _ these human lives for some Kami-forsaken reason. She’d also decided to have this meeting at sunset so that if things did go south, she could use the darkness to get away. That was probably what annoyed her the most about Blondie. He was  _ strong, _ nearly as strong as her she figured at this point, and yet he  _ wasted  _ his time  _ protecting  _ these vermin instead of enjoying himself like she was. Honestly, if he’d just come up and told them he wanted in on the action, they’d have let him. 

... _ I think…maybe...probably not. _

Well at the very least it would have been preferable to having to deal with him fighting them all the time. It annoyed her to no end that even one person existed that still managed to challenge them on a regular basis. 

_ ...a challenge that you let live just the other day… _

Eighteen sighed as she rested her chin on her knee. She still hadn’t forgiven herself for letting that nuisance go. Hell, she still hadn’t forgiven herself for letting a  _ human  _ of all things get in her head-

Eighteen closed her eyes as she disrupted the train of thought. She did  ** _not _ ** want to get into that again.

Opening her eyes again, the woman noticed out of the corner of her eye a distinct yellow light heading straight towards her. Raising an eyebrow, the woman lifted an open palm before catching the energy blast previously aimed towards her face. 

She felt the golden energy drive into her hand for several seconds before she closed her fist around it, extinguishing it in a flash of light.

_ That was certainly weaker than what I’m used to from Blondie… _

Eighteen shifted her eyes in the direction the ki blast had come from before her eyes widened.

It wasn’t Blondie.

It was his  _ sidekick _

_ Son of a bitch! Why the hell are you even here!? _

She thought as her face contorted into a nasty snarl.

“I’m going to make you pay for all the lives you’ve taken!” the young man exclaimed as he took a fighters pose. It resembled Blondies in many ways.

_ Yeah, sure you are kid.  _

She thought dryly as she shouted back, “Where’s Batman Robin? Trust me when I say that you  _ really  _ don’t want to mess with me right now. But tell you what-” She smiled trying to appear as  _ friendly  _ as possible. It was harder than she’d expected.

“If you manage to point me in the direction of the man in orange I  _ might  _ just spare your pathetic excuse for a life!”

She watched as the boy sunk deeper into his stance. It was clear to her that her words had fallen on deaf ears.

_ Maybe shouldn’t have used the term ‘pathetic’ there… _

The woman sighed as she casually rose to her feet. Her gaze turned sinister as she stared down the lavender haired teen, “Last chance kid. Tell me where he is before I beat your face in so bad they won’t be able to identify the body.”

The boy snarled before spitting back, “The only thing that’s going to beaten today is you you  _ bitch! _ ”

“...”

Eighteen closed her eyes as she took a deep breath in, and then out. Her patience was  _ gone _ . She knew that this kid for some reason  _ meant  _ something to Blondie. She’d figured that out by the way he’d ran away clutching him to his chest the first time she’d beaten the boy unconscious. She knew that if she killed this kid it would mean that a conversation of any type was impossible with Blondie. But at that moment, she was having a  _ really  _ tough time caring.

_Alright kid, you want to play hero? You want to pretend you’re strong like your Blond friend is? Fine then. Maybe I’ll just have to rip one of your arms off and beat you with it! At least then the two of you will match!__  
_ Without another comment she rushed towards the boy.

  
  


_ -Trunks- _

  


Power erupted from the young man as he pushed every ounce of strength he could muster to the challenge. He knew that he couldn’t start out small, not against this opponent. He needed  _ everything  _ if he wanted even a  _ chance  _ against a fiend like this.

He watched as the woman, blond, pretty, unassuming, slowly rose to her feet like any other person would. She stared at him, with eyes that were not unlike the people below them. But the look she gave him, the  _ stare _ .

The teen felt a shiver run down his spine. That was a look of a murderer, the stare of someone who’d seen the deepest torments a human body could take,

And smiled at their work.

The boy blinked, and suddenly the woman had disappeared. A moment later, he felt an explosion of pain erupt across the side of his face. The force of the kick sent the young man hurtling towards a two story structure just to his left. The cement wall proved no match for his momentum as he barreled through one, and then two walls before he eventually came to a stop resting upon hard rubble and broken glass.

His mind was spinning as he lay there. For a moment, he couldn’t tell where he was anymore, or how he got there. Sitting up, he could feel cuts littering his body and a slow dribble of blood slowly running down the side of his face which was beginning to numb from the damaged nerve endings. His mind recollected itself a moment later as he remembered what he was doing here. 

“...damn...it.” he swore under his breath as he picked himself up and to his feet. He gritted his teeth as he realized that had been the  _ hardest  _ he’d ever been hit in his entire life.

He could feel rage begin to bubble to the surface. Rage over being so  _ weak  _ so  _ powerless  _ in the face of such a  _ monster _ .

_ That’s it, that’s the feeling. _

The boy grinned to himself, reassurance flooding his system. He’d been right, he was going to transform into a Super Saiyan, he could feel it, he could almost taste it.

“You still alive in there Robin?” he heard Eighteen’s mocking voice call out towards where his body had left a hole in the wall. 

Seeing her figure appear hovering near the newly formed hole he growled, “Yeah...I’m still alive…” he mumbled under his breath as he began to push his power to the palms of his hands. Shoving his hands forward, he roared, “ ** _Wanna find out!?_ ** ”

A sonic boom echoed down the streets as a torrent of golden energy streamed out of the boy’s palms completely engulfing the Android standing several meters away.

The teen snarled as he saw the energy overtake her, even without sensing her energy, he knew it hadn’t been enough.

_ No, I know you’re still in there you  _ ** _bitch_ ** !

Releasing his concentration, he shot forward, pulling back an arm as he closed in. Just as he’d suspected, he saw the Eighteen appear exactly where she’d been before, a glimmering energy shield surrounding her as she yawned with arms crossed.

His fist connected with the energy shield a second later. His fist hurt from the impact before he drove a knee and then a roundhouse kick straight into the force field.

“Having trouble there? Here, let me help.” Eighteen commented dryly before the force field dissipated. Trunks roared as he drove a punch meant for the Androids face only for it to be caught inches away from her nose. 

“Was this for me?” She asked snidely as Trunks struggled to pull his arm away, “Aww, thanks, although you should know…” Trunks began to feel the grip on his fist tighten, “I have a bad habit of  _ breaking  _ my gifts.”

The teen suddenly felt his hand begin to crumple into itself as the Android’s grip tightened. He could hear the sickening pops of joints folding in on themselves as he let out a scream of complete agony.

_ No, no, no,  _ ** _NO!_ **

He thought in a panic, his eyes wide with fear. Blood began to spill from his broken hand as he could feel bone begin to tear through the skin of his fist before he began to think clearer and think of a way out of this. Pulling back his other hand, he formed as much energy as he could muster in a short time before burying it straight into Eighteen’s face, her eyes too focused on his hand to notice in time.

The resulting explosion had been painful to say the least, but it also had the desired effect. He felt the hand on his fist release as he was blasted away. Slowing to a stop, the boy stared down stunned at his now ruined hand. It hardly resembled a hand at all now, more just a mess of red and skin.

“Ouchy, that looks really bad.”

Looking up, he saw Eighteen slowly lowering herself so that she was at level with him, a snide smile pulling at her lips. Her face was unmarked, her hair ruffled, but otherwise untouched from his blast.

Trunks did his best to suppress the rising fear in the pit of his stomach. The urge to flee, to hide, to save himself from this bastardization of humanity found itself planted firmly in his mind.

_ No!  _

He told himself as he found the resolve to fight return once more.

_ This is the only way! I need to fight the Androids or I’ll- _

He paused as he realized something.

“...Where’s Seventeen?”

Eighteen scoffed as she stood there, “Really? You’re hand looks like it just made sweet love to a blender, and  **that’s ** what you’re thinking about right now?”

Trunks scowled as he slowly began to position his damaged right hand behind him, bringing up his left in a defensive pose. As much as it pained him to admit it, she was right. He didn’t know where Seventeen had disappeared to, but right now it was all he could do to face just one Android...maybe he was off terrorizing another part of the city...

_ Focus Trunks! Don’t let that rage go! Keeping fighting! Remember why you’re here! _

The teen stole a glance at the scene down below. People were running for their lives, screaming in terror in the realization that the Androids were here. Others were digging through the broken remains of what had once been an apartment building. He could hear the sound of pained crying as the survivors of Eighteen’s initial attack rummaged through the debri searching desperately for their loved once.

_ You are  _ ** _their _ ** _ hope! Their possibility at revenge! You  _ ** _need _ ** _ to become more! You  _ ** _need _ ** _ to fight! _

His eyes narrowed as he adjusted his stance, leading with his left hand as he let his right hang in the back, figuring it wouldn’t be helpful for the rest of the fight.

“Ah, there we go, now you’re finally starting to resemble Blondie a little bit.” Eighteen commented mockingly as she raised a hand to her chin, cupping it. She pretended to study the young man for a moment longer before raising a finger, “But you know, Blondie sure has a hell of a lot more scars than you do…” a dark smile spread across her features, “But I think I can help with that.”

With that, the Android launched herself towards the boy.

Knowing that he would be too slow to react to his opponent Trunks shot straight up, hoping that she’d chosen to attack him from one of the sides.

His gamble paid off as he saw the woman appear where his right side would be before lashing out with an open palm strike, just barely missing him as he moved away.

Responding immediately, Trunks dived down before driving the heel of his shoe directly into the Android’s cheek. He watched with satisfaction as her head snapped to the side, a grimace written across her features from the force of the blow. He felt pride in himself in that moment. It seemed to him that the rage in his system, the frustration and sorrow, it was all fueling him to become stronger!  
_I’m transforming!_

He told himself.

_It’ll only be a matter of time now!__  
_ Intent to press his advantage, the teen kicked off the Android’s face, spinning as he swung his other leg straight towards her forehead. Just as the attack came inches away from contact, it was suddenly halted, a slender, feminine hand clutching his shin tightly.

He could see Eighteen’s malicious gaze staring him down, a scowl consuming her features.

“You just messed up  **big time ** kid.” she snarled. A moment later the teen was sent hurtling to the ground. The boy cried out in pain as he felt jagged bits of cement, brick, and wood dig into his back from the impact. He could hear the screams of people who’d previously been looking for their lost loved ones all around him as he struck.

The attack had added to the long list of scrapes and cuts that now littered his body. He winced as he tried to pull himself up to a sitting position, slowly rising until he was able to pull some of the debris that had fallen atop him away from his beaten body. Looking down at his remaining hand, he could see that he was trembling.

_ ...n-no...Gohan told me, this is exactly how  _ ** _he _ ** _ transformed! We’re the same! He and I! We’re both half Saiyans! So I...I… _

His thoughts trailed off as he looked up to see the confident form of Android Eighteen slowly descending on him. Her arms were crossed, a sinister smile playing off her lips.

The young half-Saiyan tried to rally the remainders of his energy, but in that moment he knew it wouldn’t be enough. No matter how much he tried to will it, he couldn’t bring himself to raise a fist or form another Ki blast. The power, the power he’d felt before, wasn’t coming. Right now, all that was in the way of him, and the Android, was his own ability, his own power. 

And it wasn’t enough.

_ I...I’m not gonna transform...am I? _

Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes as his mouth fell open in  _ terror _ . The realization hit him at the same time the  _ fear  _ set in. 

_ I’m… I’m going to die? Now? Here? N-no! _

He watched as the woman’s shoes touched down on the rubble a mere foot away from where his legs were positioned. His eyes were wide with terror as he watched her

“What’s wrong Robin? Realizing how much you’ve messed up?” She said with a malicious grin.

_ P-please, I-I need t-to transform now! _

He begged to no one as he tried to will the transformation. Rapidly he ran through what he’d been told by Gohan to try and transform.

_ “Imagine all the lives that the Androids have taken!”  _

He was laying in a pile of rubble, the Androids victims all around him as he stared up at the perpetrator. No matter how much he wanted that fact to  _ enrage  _ him, he couldn’t stop his shoulders from trembling.

_ “Imagine your mother at the mercy of the Androids!” _

He could. He could see it now, this woman, this figure standing above his mother as she groveled in the same way he was at Eighteen’s feet. He’d pictured it so many times, and so many times he imagined himself transforming a moment later to combat the Androids. That was the usual way this exercise went, but as he sat there on the ground, beaten and bleeding, he couldn’t envision himself rising to the challenge. As the scene played out in his head, he saw himself cowering with his mother,  _ helpless  _ to stop Android Eighteen as she raised a single hand to wash away everything he’d ever known or cared about.

_ “Imagine that if you don’t step up right here, right now and become a Super Saiyan, then everyone you know and love is going to die!” _

_ Everything,  _ ** _everyone_ ** _ …is going to die. _

That was the only thing he could think as he stared into the eyes of what had to be the devil incarnate. The rage, the primal feeling to attack, and protect, it was all gone. In its place was a fear that had always been there, festering, waiting for its chance to rise and claim his mind. He knew then that he couldn’t win, that he wouldn’t become a Super Saiyan in time.

_ T-this...this was a  _ ** _mistake_ ** _ . _

He knew it to be true. Gohan had believed in him. Gohan had told him that the two of them were the same. But he knew right then, right there that they were  ** _not _ ** the same. They were both half-Saiyans, that much was true, but staring up at this unstoppable force, Trunks knew that he would  _ never  _ be like Gohan. Gohan fought the Androids by himself when the boy had been  _ half  _ of the teenager’s age, and he’d transformed into a Super Saiyan by that time. Trunks had been trying for the better part of a year now with no success despite living in the same world Gohan had been in when he transformed. Gohan was brave, braver than his strength was strong. He didn’t care if he was weaker, or if he was destined to fall. He still  ** _fought _ ** regardless of the outcome. He fought for what was right, and that was all that mattered. His fear couldn’t hope to stand up to his resolve to save what needed saving. 

_ ...and that’s not me… _

Trunks thought to himself. He was a coward compared to the elder Saiyan. He’d been lying to himself, telling himself that he  ** _deserved _ ** the transformation because the world needed him to transform. But that didn’t mean that he was  ** _worthy_ ** . He hadn’t come to fight with the mentality that he would lose. He wasn’t the lesser of two forces fighting for what was right despite the odds. 

He’d  _ expected  _ to transform. In the back of his mind, he’d fully believed that he was going to achieve the transformation and even the odds. He’d felt so certain about the transformation that he’d thrown all caution to the wind. It’d been a near  _ certainty  _ to him. He’d gone into the fight  _ believing  _ that he would succeed, he had to, otherwise the Earth was doomed!

_ But that’s not enough… _

He thought to himself as Android Eighteen pulled back her foot, readying her heel to drive into his skull.

_ I’m a coward. I don’t deserve to transform...I never did. _

He watched with crushed spirits as the foot came down on him.

Then his world went dark.

_ -Eighteen- _

  


_ Well this was a total bust. _

She thought to herself as she stepped on the unconscious boy’s head, standing idly as she began to chew on her bottom lip in thought. 

_ Now there’s not a chance that Blondie won't attack me on sight...if he ever shows up! _

She scowled looking up into the sky, half expecting to see the golden annoyance floating just above her. 

Nothing.

For a moment she questioned why  _ sidekick  _ had showed up instead of Blondie. It was odd to see him without the other. Of course there was the fact that she and her brother had beaten him to near death only a week prior, but that was a regular occurrence in their lives. Could count several times when she and Seventeen would beat Blondie within an inch of his life, and then return the next day to wreak havoc only to have Blondie show up again, perfectly healed aside from a few new scars here and there. She didn't have a single clue how this was possible, but she’d been banking on today being one of those strange occasions.

She sighed as she looked down at the boy. She wanted to blame him for her plan not working out, but in the back of her mind she knew that this was never going to work. It had too many flaws, too many rough patches to be a viable strategy. She’d mostly only done it to get her out of the house. She’d been done with letting her doubt get to her.

That didn’t stop her from digging the heel of her shoe into his face though, twisting as she snarled.

“Little shit, you messed up my hair.” she cursed under her breath as she pulled back a strand of hair that was hanging out of place.

She relaxed her shoulders once she did this, satisfied that she’d fixed it  _ mostly. _ She started to think of what she should do now? Proceed with the plan and see if Blondie showed up, or bail and try one of her many  _ other  _ terrible plans.

She sighed as she buried her face in a palm, dragging the hand down slowly as she growled.

_ This plan was stupid. Even if he did show up and  _ ** _didn’t _ ** _ try to blast me on sight, it’s not like our conversation would actually get me anywhere. If he did say anything at all, I bet he would just take jabs at me to try and provoke me into attacking him, or stepping away from the boy, probably both.  _

Eighteen paused as an idea crossed her mind. Looking down at where her foot was currently bruising the young man’s cheek, she began to study him meticulously.

_ What if I took him? Kidnapped him and told Blondie that if he wanted the little twerp, we had to have a talk about things… _

She gave the idea some time to play out in her head, before she immediately scowled dismissing it.

_ That’s even more stupid than this idea is! It’s not like I could just tie up this guy and leave him in a broom closet! The kid can break through walls! And It’s not like I can just sit around babysitting him! Then I couldn’t go out and find Blondie! Seventeen babysitting him is out the question! He’d just kill the kid and be over with it, or question why I’m doing all this in the first place, which I  _ ** _do not _ ** _ want to have to explain! _

The woman growled as she slowly lowered herself into a crouch holding the sides of her face in frustration.

Her mind raced through another dozen or so ideas, all of them eventually being tossed away for one reason or another.

_ I could have him beaten bloody and then question him. _

** _You might not be able to beat him on your own, and if Seventeen finds out that he’s alive then he’ll have questions. Plus Blondie wouldn’t talk to you even when beaten bloody._ **

_ I could lie to him and tell him I’m ‘turning a new leaf’ or something like that. That might get him to pause and talk to me. _

** _But then he’ll just tell you everything you need to hear to believe that. He wants what all the humans want, for you to stop. He’s biased._ **

_ I could… _

The woman grumbled to herself as she ran out of ideas to try. No matter what she did, no matter what she could think of, the problem lied within  _ herself _ . Her methods, they didn’t work on Blondie. She could strike fear into any man on Earth, threaten, and beat anyone into submission,  _ except  _ for Blondie. No matter what she thought of, she couldn’t think of a way to subdue him, to make him submit to her will.

_ ...That’s the entire point Eighteen. _

She told herself annoyed. The entire point was that he didn’t fear her, that he could see past her intimidating presence. He could stare into her eyes like his  _ sidekick  _ had, and not quiver in  _ terror _ .

So...if she couldn’t use her typical methods to get what she wanted...then maybe…

_ Then maybe I need to think like a person that  _ ** _isn’t _ ** _ me. _

She raised a hand to cup her chin as she adopted a contemplative look. There were still people nearby whimpering in terror as they drug their broken bodies out of the wreckage and did their best to get away.

She did her best to ignore their cries of pain and focus on this new train of thought.

_ Maybe, if I open myself to thinking like… _

She grimaced.

_ Like one of these  _ ** _weaklings_ ** _ ...I might get an idea that bears fruit… _

Her eyes snapped open as a  _ new  _ idea flooded her mind. A sinister smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

_ If Blondie won’t talk to  _ ** _Android Eighteen_ ** _ ...then let’s make sure that the next time he sees me, I’m  _ ** _not Android Eighteen_ ** _ . _

The woman began to slowly rise from her foot place on the boy’s face as she began to feel a swell of new confidence rush her. She knew what she had to do now. It was  _ perfect _ .

She prepared to take off before pausing. Blinking, she looked back down at the pile of broken sidekick just below.

_ Oh right, almost forgot. _

Raising her hand she prepared to blast away the remains of the annoying sidekick to the equally annoying ‘hero’. 

But her mind still in a critical sense of  _ planning,  _ made her reconsider.

_ If I kill this kid then Blondie will probably be  _ ** _grieving _ ** _ like all these weaklings do when they lose someone  _ ** _important _ ** _ to them. Like any of them are actually important, pfft. _

The woman slowly lowered her arm back to her side. She wouldn’t kill him, not  _ yet _ . For the sake of her new plan, she didn’t want to have to deal with Blondie  _ grieving  _ over this little twerp. It would complicate things to a point that she was definitely not wanting to deal with. Plus, it wasn’t as if this little twerp could actually do anything to her. He’d been  _ far  _ too weak to do anything but  _ annoy  _ her in their fight against one another. If he became a problem in the future, she’d kill him then, that worked for her plenty.

“It’s your lucky day Robin, looks like Batman isn’t going to have to look for a replacement, impressionable, adolescent boy for his new sidekick afterall. Have fun with that broken hand.” she waved a mocking ‘goodbye’ before shooting off into the sky, her sudden movement causing a cascade of screams from people assuming she was going after them next.

A dark smile graced her face as she spoke, “Can’t wait until the next time I see you Blondie, or should I say, the next time I  _ meet  _ you again?”

A dark laugh echoed from her lips as she flew away from North city.

  
  
  
  


** __ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:  
OOF was that a doozy huh? My sincerest appreciations to those of you who’ve decided to stick with this fic and see where it goes. It means alot to have any amount of support towards the story. Your responses mean a lot to me, no matter if it’s negative or positive feedback (Although the majority of the feedback has been positive). The fact that you take the time at all to even write two sentences in the form of support or whatever towards me after I’ve sunk literal hours into each and every one of these chapters...it means more than you’d think it would.   
So please, if you want to see this story flourish and update more regularly, consider writing even the briefest of reviews. They make my day every time and make me want to write more and more too. I even respond to each and every review via PM! So if you have a question or simply want to talk to the brilliant mind behind this obvious work of art (#sohumble #Noshame #maybe-a-little-shame).  
What’s interesting is writing this story is actually helping me through my own emotional problems. Working through Gohan’s dilemma actually made me reflect on my life and the things I need to do to get past a lot of the bullshit. Funny that huh? Also what did you think of how I mirrored Android Eighteen and Gohan’s internal dilemmas? I thought It was pretty clever of me :).  
(#sohumble-once-more)
> 
> Anyway, I suppose that’s all I have to really say about this chapter. I feel like the majority was pretty self explanatory, so I don’t think I’ll go about explaining any of the scenes as I did with the last chapter. However, for those of you looking for a challenge, I want people to tell me what they thought of the dream the chapter opened with. What was being told in that scene? It might surprise you how varied you answers might turn out (I can think of three different interpretations already!) :).
> 
> I’ll close out this AN before I ramble for too long. Please know that the next chapter is already written! So be excited!
> 
> Until next time!


	4. Recon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Android Eighteen decides to attempt to conceal herself within the masses as she hunts down the one person she knows has an answer to her problem. Meanwhile, Trunks does his best to come to terms with his failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as an apology for how long it's taken me to update this story, I've decided to gift you all two chapters for the price of one! Enjoy!

_ -Eighteen, one day later- _

_ ...This...is going to be a disaster… _

Eighteen's eyes were wide as she took in the sight of herself. She'd initially taken on this project half expecting to fail during the attempt. Much to her surprise, her efforts resulted in an eye opening success.

Her hair was covered by a dark black wig with straight long hair that ran down to her hips and bangs that concealed some of her otherwise large forehead. Her typically ice cold blue eyes had been replaced with simple black ones with the help of contacts. Her pale skin complexion had been darkened with a touch of toner, giving it a slightly more peach color. She rarely used makeup, but she was glad that in her younger years she had as her lips were now an unassuming shade of pink. She hadn't been able to do anything with the shape of her eyes, but some effectively placed eyeliner had done wonders to give them a darker and more pronounced look.

Eighteen blinked, still looking back at the person in the mirror like she was staring at someone else.

Her plan, it had worked, or at least, so far it had. she almost looked  _ nothing  _ like her old self. Sure, if you  _ really  _ squinted, you could see bits and pieces of her through the facade. The sharpness of her gaze, the coldness of her demeanor, the general shape of her body. These were things that she could not change, but those few qualities would hardly give her away if she were to be seen by anyone but herself.

She snickered.

_ I bet if I walked out right now I could even fool Seventeen into thinking I was someone else...maybe I should step out and say hello. The look on his face would be  _ ** _priceless_ ** _ . _

Her smile faltered.

_ No he'd probably attack me if I did that, and right now I do  _ ** _not _ ** _ want to have to go house looking again after he blows up a room with me in it. _

She sighed as she pulled the wig off of her head and stared down at it with a contemplative look. Was she really going to do this? Was this  _ really  _ the best course of action? She'd taken a long time to think about it in comparison to the rest of her plans, and so far, this one seemed to be the best out of the bunch. Well, best in terms of getting results,  _ worst  _ in terms of doing something she actually wanted to do.

_ This...sucks so damn much. _

She mentally scolded herself as she began to imagine what she would need to do in a few hours. She needed to pass herself off as one of these many cockroaches of humanity so that she could get close enough to Blondie without the bastard attacking her.

_ Just long enough until you get your answer! _

She told herself closing her eyes as her fingers curled into fists. She hated the idea of devaluing herself to a simple  _ human _ . Even if it was only for a little while, even if it was just pretending, the very notion of letting others believe that she was  _ weak  _ by any definition of the word sickened her to her very core.

Her head slowly turned to the open window next to her bedside table. The breeze beckoned her with a slow wind that gently pushed against her blinds. It called to her, a silent question of whether or not she was really going to do this. Eighteen's jaw tightened as she afixed the wig back to the top of her head. She placed a single foot atop the rim of the window before taking off into the sky. She flew straight, her resolve to get her answer pushing her further and further from the comforts of her brother, of her temporary home, of her typical routine and closer towards the city, West City, the place where she was determined to find her answer.

She made it another hundred feet until her disgust grew too large and she spun back around to her still open window.

As she touched down back into her room she threw the wig across the room into an open drawer.

_Tomorrow. I'll go tomorrow, once I'm able to stomach pretending to be one of these _**_disgusting_** _humans._

She told herself as she began to wipe away the makeup covering her face.

_ -Trunks- _

_ Soft. _

As he felt his foggy mind slowly pulling itself out from the depths of unconsciousness, that was the first word that ran through his thoughts.

_ I feel something...soft, beneath me. _

His eyes were closed as he awoke, but he could still tell that he was laying on a relatively soft bed. The next thing he noticed was the steady  _ BEEPing  _ noise regularly going off just a few feet away from his head.

His eyes slowly opened, his vision meeting an expected set of surroundings.

This was a hospital room, complete with a several decade old TV mounted in the top right corner of the room playing old reruns of shows that were popular a decade ago. Nothing new aired nowadays. Funny how no one wants to make movies during the apocalypse.

His eyes slowly moved over the room, absorbing its contents. A simple set of chairs against the wall. An IV bag containing what Trunks could recognize as plain old water. A simple curtain that separated him from the hallway running perpendicular to his room. He could hear the pained noises of other people within the unit. It seemed that there were a lot of injured after the incident against Android Eighteen.

A sour frown pulled at the young Saiyan's lips as his mind returned to the fight.

His eyes drifted downward. He could see a mess of bandages and cotton currently doing their best to stop all the bleeding from the numerous cuts he could still feel across his body. His eyes trailed down his arm to his hand which was currently wrapped up in a hastily designed cast. It was serviceable at best, but Trunks didn't blame whatever hospital he was currently within for his less than stellar treatment. He imagined that there were several people far less fortunate than he despite going toe to toe with the monster that did all this.

Trunks let a sad smile consume his lips.

_ Toe to toe...hardly. _

He wanted to pretend that he'd fought valiantly, that his efforts had made a difference, that he'd at least done  _ something  _ to help in the conflict.

But he knew that wasn't the case.

_She completely picked me apart. She took me down like it was _**_nothing!_** _I was hardly a distraction, let alone an actual challenge!_

His expression fell as his one good hand tightened into a fist.

_ I was helpless! Despite all this power and Saiyan heritage! In the end I was just as much a victim as all the rest of those people! _

...wait…

The boy's eyebrows furrowed as he realized something.

_ Why...did she spare me? _

She'd beaten him to a pulped, his last memory from the fight was her foot coming in contact with his head. She couldn't have thought she'd killed him...had she?

Trunks chewed on his bottom lip in thought. It didn't add up. She'd been  _ right there _ , why hadn't she finished him off?

_ Maybe...maybe something distracted her...maybe she thought I was already dead? _

Those were the only reasons that made sense to him in that moment. The Androids weren't known for their acts of  _ mercy _ , so it had to be something else.

What else though, Trunks hadn't a single clue.

The teen thought on the matter for a moment longer before sighing and dismissing it.

_ One way or another, it doesn't matter. I'm alive. That's all that matters. _

The teen began to push himself up so that he was sitting but quickly paused as a wave of pain hit him from the effort. The teen grimaced as he felt all his injuries protest his actions. No painkillers in his system. Painkillers were a rarity in this day and age, reserved for those with injuries so dire that they wouldn't be able to remain conscious without screaming in agony if not for the muscle relaxers.

Learning from his mistake, the boy  _ slowly  _ began to push himself into a sitting position. His eyes were looking about the room, falling on the window just next to him for a moment before moving on, the sun was slowly pulling itself over the horizon casting a single beam of light into his otherwise dark room. His mind however, was elsewhere as he reflected on the fight leading up to his unwilling admission into this facility.

He remembered pushing his power to its very limits, throwing his all into the fight despite the odds. He remembered calling out to the transformation he'd been all but certain would occur. All the right pieces were there, hatred, need, a dire situation, all the conditions Gohan had explained to him would trigger the transformation. What did it mean then if he  _ still  _ failed even when all the requirements had been met? If he was a Demi-Saiyan, just like Gohan, with a father who had been able to become a Super Saiyan, just like Gohan's dad, did that mean that the problem-

"The problem is me." The boy said the rest of the thought aloud.

It had to be him. What else could it be? He'd checked off each of the conditions perfectly. The stars had been aligned for him to transform there, everything would have made  _ sense  _ had he transformed. Much like how his mother would put it, if all the variables were the same then the final product should yield similar if not identical results.

"I'm the final variable…" He mumbled to himself, his mom's terminology making its way into his thoughts.

For one reason or another, somehow  _ he  _ was the piece that didn't fit in this complex puzzle to become the legendary Super Saiyan. What could it be? Did that mean that he just wouldn't be able to transform?

_ No! That can't be true! It can't be! If that's true… _

If that was true than all of his training, all of his effort, all of this  _ pain  _ he was going through would be for not. Gohan, with all the strength he had wasn't strong enough on his own to put an end to the Androids. That left it up to him to pick up the slack, but then...what happens if he couldn't?

"..."

Trunks didn't like to think about that, about what it meant if he couldn't become the legend.

He forced the thoughts down as he did his best to think of other things. He began to think about how he could still make it, still become the legend. It would just take a little bit more training right? He'd come closer than he'd ever come before, right?...But then that begged the question, what if he never actually got to that point? What if he never snapped? What if he just got closer and closer but never actually-

"Shut! Up! Brain!" Trunks shouted slapping his good hand against his forehead. He needed to occupy his mind with anything else, just  _ something  _ to fill the void and suppress the doubts.

He began to rapidly fire out idea after idea to flush out his mind.

_ Gohan training, delicious cereal, IV's, that one TV show with all the ninjas, being able to fly, dad, mom- _

His eyes snapped open wide.

** _MOM!_ **

Immediately the boy began to scramble out of his bed ignoring the pained protests from the plethora of wounds littering his body.

_ Mom must be worried sick! She has no idea what happened to me! _

The young man immediately began to limp towards the window. He could hear footsteps enter the room behind him as he made his way towards the glass.

"Hello? I thought I heard some shouting are you O-"

Trunks looked over his shoulder as the woman's jaw dropped. "Young man! You should  **not** be out of bed! You are not even close to being healed enough to move about!"

The teen studied her as she angrily pointed back towards his bed. She was a rather tired looking woman with a pretty face and a motherly aura about her. He could imagine her having a little one sitting at home waiting for her.

_ Which is why  _ ** _I _ ** _ need to get home as quickly as possible, before I'm grounded so long I forget what the  _ ** _sun _ ** _ looks like. _

He wore a half smile as he opened the window behind him. The woman froze with fright as the cold breeze rolled in from the third story window.

"N-now let's stay c-calm here. T-there's no n-need to act rash." She was slowly raising her hands in a calming manner as she took slow steps towards him.

Trunks let out a soft laugh. She thought he was a jumper didn't she?

"Relax." He spoke in a calm tone as he pulled one leg up and onto the ledge. "I'm not gonna get hurt."

Before she could respond, the boy tipped out of the window. He heard her scream a moment later, her feet rushing to get to the ledge before it was too late.

The teen smiled to himself as he immediately began to manipulate his Ki, adjusting it so that he was now floating in front of the window.

He met the woman's gaze with a bemused smile. Her eyes were about as wide as they could be now, her jaw slack as she stared at the floating young man.

"See? I told you I wouldn't be hurt." He tried his best to sound reassuring. It wasn't every day that you saw someone suspended in the air. Well, it wasn't everyday that you found someone who wasn't Gohan or the  **Androids ** suspended in the air.

"B-bu-...wha?" Was all she could get out as she stood stiffly by the windowsill.

Trunks couldn't help but laugh, which rippled through his shoulders still currently injured.

"Haha, ow," he grimaced, "Hurts to laugh." Relaxing his face the boy smiled. "Were you the one who did my bandages?"

A slow nod.

"Well you did a great job! Unfortunately I have to go now though...I've got someone at home waiting for me...probably angry…" He let out a sigh before waving with his good hand. "Seeya! I owe ya one!"

Turning, he took off into the air. Behind him, the young woman crumpled to the ground from the shock.

_ -Bulma- _

Slender fingers wrapped around a pen-like tool with a delicate yet firm grip. The instrument in her hand moved with a methodical like efficiency, dancing around the wire circuits with impressive accuracy and finesse. It was the work of someone with  _ years, _ no,  _ decades  _ of experience in the field.

Dark bags stained the bases of her blue eyes. Her bright blue hair was in disarray, pushed up into a bun to keep it out of the way and little more.

She hadn't gotten even a minute of sleep last night.

How could she? Her baby boy hadn't come home after the training session he'd told her about. She'd taken a capsule plane to go and investigate where he'd told her he'd be training only to find nothing. Later she'd seen a story on the News about an attack from one of the Androids. There'd been a hundred or so casualties with dozens injured, most still in critical condition. There had even been reports that a fight had occurred a few minutes after the initial attack, but that was still up to speculation.

Had Trunks gone out and fought the Androids by himself? Did her little boy get caught up in the attack? Was she ever going to see-

_ No! He's not gone! He just got lost or decided to stay out tonight for...some reason… _

She couldn't believe it,  _ wouldn't  _ believe it. A reality where her child, her baby, the son she'd raised to be a handsome, intelligent young man who she couldn't have been prouder of, was  ** _dead_ ** ?

It was jarring to say the least. The very thought sent the older woman into a panic. Her body trembled with fear, worry, and terror. She needed her son just like he needed her. If he was gone...what did she have left? He was what she lived for, her everything, her  _ child _ . She was half of him, he was what kept her motivated thought this hell, the reason she woke up every day and did her best to make the world just a little bit better than before.

It was all for  _ him,  _ so that one day  _ his  _ future would be a bright one.

She let out a shaky breath and reached out for a half empty water bottle she'd placed on her work desk. She'd cried four times over the night when the anxiety had overwhelmed the poor woman and she was dehydrated.

The project before her was little more than a distraction. She didn't give a damn if she actually completed the thing, but at least it kept some of her mind off the fact that her son might be  **dead** .

The woman rose from her chair, an empty coffee cup in her hand. "I guess I can get some more…" She mumbled to herself before heading towards the kitchen. She couldn't sleep all night, the idea of going to bed without knowing for certain that her baby was safe was laughable to her.

Her mind flashed with the thought of Gohan. The young man was currently asleep, resting as his wounds slowly healed.

She'd thought about waking him in the middle of the night, asking him to do that 'ki sensing' thing he does to see if he could find her son. It didn't take a long time to realize the problems with that plan. She knew how dedicated, how earnest Gohan was. If she asked him, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would get up and try to find Trunks himself despite his wounds. Bulma had seen his injuries first hand, hell, she'd been the one to  _ dress  _ them. She knew that if he tried to get up and move right now, the consequences might turn fatal.

Sometimes Bulma wished she didn't have the mind of a genius. She hated how rapidly her mind would break down the hope she was so desperately clinging to with brutal realism. She knew that it was unlikely her son survived an Android attack, if he faced them, well, she knew first hand what happened to most of the people the Androids set their eyes on.

_ ...They wind up de- _

' _ Activity at the front door' _

The automated system called out.

The coffee mug hadn't even touched the ground yet by the time the woman had turned and began dashing down the hallway. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she moved as fast as she could to where the security monitors she'd installed were located. With the rise in crime rate, she had to take extra precautions for her own safety. Of course she was friends with a man who could bench press a planet, and a had a son who could punch through cement, but it didn't hurt to be on the safe side anyway.

_ Please be my baby boy! _

She pleaded as she rounded a corner and slid into a wall. Cursing, she quickly tossed away her socks before continuing down the woodfloor to the surveillance room. Slamming the door open, Bulma leaned over the screen monitoring the front door with ragged breaths.

It was Trunks. It was her baby boy.

The woman immediately felt her legs buckle, a literal night's worth of stress and anxiety finally washing away with a wave of relief. Her  _ son  _ was  _ alive. _

Tears ran down the woman's cheeks as she collected herself and began to rise back to her feet. A large smile consumed her face as she looked down at the monitor.

That smile slowly fell as she studied her son further.

His face was bruised so badly that a large section of it was pure black. She could see a tenderness to his step, like it hurt to just be standing there. And his right hand was wrapped up in a cast so hastily constructed she couldn't even make out the shape of a  _ hand _ .

Her lips contorted into a deep frown.

_ Her son was alive, and he'd faced the  _ ** _Androids_ ** _ . _

How  ** _dare _ ** he? How could he do that to her after all that she did for him? She could be reasonable, she understood that Gohan needed to train Trunks so that he could face future threats. She had come to terms with that fact, knowing that her son would most likely be risking his life in the future. But that was  _ in the future _ . Right now Gohan had made it clear that he was to  _ never  _ go out on his own to face the Androids, a rule she personally couldn't agree more with.

"Oh you little…" She began to mutter angrily under her breath as she began to march with heavy footsteps towards the door. It wasn't a minute later when she'd unlocked the multiple bolts keeping the massive door sealed and the door swung to the side.

"Well look who it is!" She said somewhere between a shout and a  _ roar _ .

The teen's head lowered, his long hair obscuring his eyes.

"You don't have anything to say? Not a 'sorry mom for keeping you up all night worried sick because I decided to  ** _fight the Androids_ ** despite Gohan being out of commision! You being a  _ child!  _ And the fact that  _ you could have  _ ** _died_ ** !"

"...Sorry mom…"

"Oh 'sorry mom' doesn't cut it this time! Do you realize how  _ grounded  _ you are right now? I thought I could trust you! Thought I could believe my own son when he tells me he's going out to-" Her words began to trail off as she noticed her son's shoulder's beginning to tremble, his head still lowered.

Without warning, the boy collided with his mom, wrapping her in a hug while tears came in torrents down his cheeks.

Bulma's expression immediately softened.

_ What the hell am I  _ ** _doing!?_ **

She thought to herself as she immediately returned the hug, feeling her little boy's shoulder's shake with sorrow.

_ He just fought the  _ ** _Androids_ ** _ . He's fourteen for Kami's sake! He's just a kid! He's just gone through a traumatic experience and your first instinct is to yell at him!? _

Bulma scolded herself for her initial response. Maybe being awake for so long had resulted in a less than reasonable response.

"It's okay...it's okay…" She gently cooed as she lightly ran her hand through her son's lavender hair. She could feel her shirt collecting with his tears. She didn't care. If her son needed to cry after what he'd just went through, he could damn well cry.

_ My baby, my poor poor baby. _

Bulma was having a tough time keeping it together herself as she felt her son trembling in her arms. The fact that her son, the one person she loved more than anything in the world had just been hurt so much that he was actively crying in her arms brought tears to her eyes. She wanted to protect him, scoop him up and take him somewhere safe. She wanted to do something to make it all better. She wanted to be a good parent and reassure him that he was safe now, that she would handle it.

But when 'it' was the Androids...what could she tell him? She couldn't lie to him. He wouldn't believe her. All she could do was hold him tight, and make sure he knew that she loved him.

So that's what she did.

Soon they were both crying.

Finally, after a minute passed, she heard him croak out some words.

"I-I'm so sorry mom. I really, I don't know what I was t-thinking- _ sniff- _ I just want, I just want to help!"

"I know baby, I know you do."

" _ -sniff- _ P-please don't tell Gohan."

Bulma stiffened at this.  _ Don't  _ tell Gohan? Of course she was going to tell Gohan...right? He deserved to know that her son had just gone off and challenged the Androids by himself...right?

She frowned. She knew as a parent this was an important moment. She knew the responsible thing to do in that moment was to go tell Gohan right away so that he might be able to properly respond to such an important event. She also knew why he was so scared. What if Gohan's response was to stop training the young man? She knew that what Trunks wanted more than anything was to make a difference, to become big and strong just like his father had and help stop the Androids. It would crush him if Gohan decided to stop training him for this.

_ But that doesn't mean he shouldn't know...But this isn't the time to discuss this. Time to mom up. _

Bulma smiled down at her son. "How about we get you a big bowl of your favorite cereal and watch a nice show, how does that sound?" She would check his bandages later, as of right now she could tell that it had been done professionally enough not to warrant an immediate concern. Plus, in a couple of days the senzu would be done and they wouldn't have to worry about healing properly. Right now she could tell that her son needed a win, even if just a small one.

Trunks sniffed one more time, the tears finally drying up as he nodded once.

"Alright, let's go do that 'kay?"

"Ok."

_ -Eighteen, two days later- _

It'd taken her two more days of utter disgust before Eighteen had finally gotten over the idea of being seen as a  _ human  _ of all things.

She was in her disguise now, the long black hair bothering her as she floated several hundred feet up looking down on West City. She was certain that she was far enough that no one would be able to see her from here.

"You know what?" She spat as a strand of the blackness caught in her mouth. " _ This  _ is why I prefer short hair!"

She hated this. Hated everything that she planned happening in the next couple hours. The plan was simple. Blow up a building from afar, dive into an alleyway, pretend to be one of the victims when Blondie arrives, approach him and see if she can't slip in her 'hypothetical' question while they're talking. She'd already mapped out how she planned to phrase it too. She'd ran through the conversation dozens of times now, predicting what goody two shoes Blondie would say.

" _ Hey, you're so strong Blondie, why do you choose to fight the Androids? Wouldn't you be happier if you were more like them? Taking over the world or something?" _

Eighteen scowled. She hated making her question sounds so stupid, but she needed it to sound as casual as possible for him to give it any thought. She imagined she would…

The woman shuttered.

She would have to likely come off as  _ flirtatious  _ for those few minutes if she wanted him to actually pay attention to her long enough to give a response. She couldn't  _ lead  _ with the question, she knew that much. She would have to engage in  _ small talk  _ before she could bring it up.

She resisted the urge to gag.

Returning to her mock conversation, she had already figured out what Blondie would say, or, just about what he would say.

" _ I fight the androids because it's the right thing to do! Because I have my friends and family to protect!" _

She snickered. She knew that he probably wouldn't phrase it exactly like that, but it made her laugh to think he spoke in a super hero voice like the moron he was.

She'd already planned her counter argument to this type of comment.

" _ But what if you didn't care about morals? Like, what if you didn't have a family or friends to protect? Do you think you would have turned out the same way as the Androids? _ "

It was a little bit on the head, but she expected the response to be something like:

" _ Hm, maybe? Yeah it makes sense. If I wasn't such a stupid dumbass, I'd probably be just like the androids" _

She pictured him drooling as he said this. 

And that would be all it took. She would have her answer. If he could admit that with all these morals absent, he would become just like her, then that would settle it.

...right?

She frowned.

That wasn't exactly the question she was asking. She wasn't asking if he would turn out like her, she was asking if she continued down this road it would lead to her eventual self destruction. The only problem was...how could she manage an answer to that question?

" _ Hey do you think that once the androids have killed all the people they'll eventually turn on each other and kill each other?" _

That's not a weird question at all. In fact, all of her questions were weird. Worse yet, she didn't know how to steer the conversation in that direction.

She sighed.

_ This is going to be a shit show. _

Slowly, Eighteen began to lower herself down before plummeting so fast that she was certain no one had seen her. She quickly landed atop a five story building.

Her head snapped side to side making sure that no one happened to be sitting on top of the roof. A community garden, some bird poop, the birds, but otherwise she was in the clear.

She looked down and checked her outfit. She was wearing some form fitting jeans with ankle black boots that gave her a bit of a heel. Her top was simple as well, a long sleeve black shirt with white striped sleeves, the base of the shirt bordered on her midriff. She'd also decided to add some cute thick rimmed glasses with fake lenses in them to distract from how sharp her gaze could be at times.

She looked nice, but not  _ too  _ nice.

She'd needed to appear cute enough that it would make Blondie want to talk to her but not so much that he got a  _ show _ .

_ I wouldn't be able to restrain myself if I saw him looking me up and down. _

She growled. She hated,  _ hated,  _ ** _hated _ ** this plan.

Her head shifted left and then right as she stood on the ledge looking out over the city. This wasn't the tallest building, but it definitely wasn't the shortest giving her a decent view over the city. She'd picked this building for two reasons, one, it was tall enough that most people wouldn't look up and see her, and two, it had an alleyway next to it that she knew she would be able to dive into without anyone noticing.

_ Speaking of which… _

She needed to make sure that no one would notice her. walking over towards the side of the building, the woman stepped onto the ledge, across from her was a neighboring building of the same height, the two of them blocked out the rays of the sun  _ perfectly _ to create the dark alley below.

She took one last look around to make sure no one was watching her before stepping off the building and plummeting straight down. She landed just behind a dumpster which reeked of vomit.

_ Gross, gross, gross, gross. _

Eighteen immediately moved away from the dumpster holding her nose. She'd smelt  _ plenty  _ of body fluids from all the ways she and her brother had tortured mankind, but vomit had never been a scent she could stand for too long. She hadn't escaped the smell until she was on the border of the sidewalk and the end of the alleyway.

She paused as she saw people walking straight past her without batting an eye.

_ This is...so... _ ** _weird_ ** _ . _

She stood stiffly as dozens of people strode past her going both directions on this busy sidewalk. She would get glances every now and again from a passerby noticing her presence, but it was never more than a passing glance before they were on their way.

She took a single step into the flow of people and watched as the river of civilians accommodated her presence, walking around her without casting a single terrified gaze her direction.

Eighteen was stunned.

She hadn't expected her disguise to  _ fail _ , but...she hadn't been prepared for  _ this _ . It was one thing to study them from afar, to see them walk about calmly when you were several hundred feet up waiting to start the killing spree. But, to see them up front, within spitting distance...it was jarring. She  _ rarely  _ saw any person up close with an expression that  _ wasn't  _ absolute terror.

It was almost...interesting to see all these calm and relaxed faces move past her.

If it weren't for her complete and utter disgust with mankind, she might even find this enjoyable. Seeing things from the inside, pretending to be normal.

It was like back when she was a child and pretended she was a doctor or a nurse checking up on Seventeen.

"C'mon get out of the way already! Seriously road block move it!" A voice behind her complained.

_ What the  _ ** _fuck _ ** _ did he just say to me!? _

Eighteen was immediately  _ livid  _ as she spun around. A  _ human,  _ no, a  _ maggot  _ had just told her to  ** _move_ ** _ ? _ Before her was a short man, roughly her height with short trimmed hair and an expensive looking business suit. She scowled as she met his gaze with an intense glare. She'd almost slipped up, she'd pulled back a hand to drive it through his chest before calming herself at the last second.

_ You can't get blood on this outfit! And you can't kill people or news will spread! _

The man froze as he was met with the intensity of her gaze.

"Care to run that by me again?" She spoke sharply.

"I- uh," It was clear to her that he'd never been confronted about his rudeness. She also knew that her glare could be  _ very  _ intimidating.

_ Years and years of practice. _

She internally smiled, enjoying the look of nervousness on his face as he took a step backward, colliding with a man just behind him.

"I- uh, didn't say anything!" He suddenly stammered out as the man behind him complained.

She smiled.

"Right answer." She said before turning on her heel and walking the other way. She didn't  _ have  _ to start the plan  _ right  _ this second. She kinda enjoyed everyone assuming she was just a simple, dumb,  _ weak _ , little girl. It made it all the more satisfying when she did something to terrify them. It was almost like when she and her brother had first started their lives as gods of this world. Back when no one knew their faces and they could walk around a city or town without anyone assuming anything. Then they typically blew it up.

She  _ hated  _ passing off as a human...but she had to admit that there were some plus sides.

No one knew. No one could see that she was actually the demon that they all feared in the night.

They all saw a cute little girl with glasses and a thin,  _ weak  _ frame.

A wolf in sheep's clothing.

A malicious grin pulled at the woman's lips.

She was going to have some fun.

_ -Eighteen, two hours later- _

"Lady! Are you okay!?"

_ Okay, this is actually  _ ** _really _ ** _ fun. _

Eighteen did her best to pretend to struggle to rise to her feet.

Only a few paces away sat what was once a simply designed black van with cheesy flames racing across its side.

Now it was a crumpled mess of metal and glass.

_ Kinda looks like a crushed soda can. _

Eighteen quietly observed. A crowd was beginning to form, some of them approached the smoking catastrophe that used to be a van. She watched as they peaked their heads into the space where a sliding door usually sat. Eighteen gathered that they were probably looking for more survivors of the crash.

_ Yeah, good luck trying to find anything but a fine red  _ ** _paste_ ** _ . _

Almost Immediately after they saw what lied within, their heads recoiled, hands over their mouths. A few actually threw up.

Eighteen struggled to maintain her frown. Internally she was giddy.

"Are you sure you should be standing!?" The man placed a hand on her arm, she gathered that this was an attempt to steady her. It took everything in her not to tear her arm free and punish this man for laying his disgusting hand on her body.

"Oh, yes, thank you sir." She couldn't believe that was her voice saying those words.

_ Maybe I could have been an actress in a second life. _

She gave a polite gesture that she was okay to stand by herself and he let go. She turned her attention towards the wreckage, pretending to be shocked and terrified that she'd just  _ survived  _ such a terrible  _ accident _ !

She could see out of the corner of her eye the man looking from the crash, to her, and then back to the crash. The look of confusion written on his features told her that he was struggling to figure out how she managed to get out of a crash like  _ that  _ practically unscathed aside from a few tears in her clothing. His eyes were furrowed, clearly trying to put the puzzle pieces together as to what had happened to cause such a fatal accident.

Internally Eighteen was grinning ear to ear.

_ -ten minutes earlier- _

Eighteen was smiling with a devious glint in her eyes. She'd been having an absolute  _ blast  _ terrifying the people in the town. First it had been going to a clothing store and  _ accidentally  _ tearing a changing room's door off for a  _ bitch  _ who'd  _ sneezed  _ on her while walking by. She loved watching her mortified face as the rest of the line waiting for their turn to change stared at her midway through changing into a  _ bathing suit _ .

Thankfully their eyes had been too glued to the woman to notice her slip out.

Next she'd been casually walking across a crosswalk when a car waiting for her beeped their horn at her. Her response had been to fire a single faint Ki blast into their back rear tire as they drove off. They fishtailed almost immediately before colliding with a stop sign an intersection later. She could still hear them screaming obscenities at the air as she casually strolled away.

Her entire day had been like this. She hadn't killed anyone  _ yet _ , but she had broken a wrist or two, on  _ accident  _ of course _ . _

She was  _ itching  _ for her next hit. It was a game, if anyone crossed her, spoke down to her, or she decided she just honestly didn't like their face, they became her next target. The 'no kill' policy was actually interesting to work around. She'd never had to  _ think  _ about how she was going to hurt someone before. She'd never been able to walk around so  _ freely  _ amongst such lesser life forms. She still hated them, but she was finding it more and more fun to simply  _ torment  _ them. They were such gullible and fragile creatures.

The only problem was that, for one reason or another, she couldn't bring herself to actually  _ kill  _ anyone. Sure, she told herself that it was because of the game she was playing, but deep down It bothered her, why couldn't she actually bring herself to end any of their miserable lives? It wasn't like she  _ couldn't  _ do it, but it was just so much more fun to leave them hurt or embarrassed or just overall  _ miserable  _ due to her actions. It was just like the man in the rubble, the people in the apartment building, she didn't  _ want  _ to kill anyone anymo-

_ No! _

She snapped at herself, not even allowing herself to finish the thought.

_I'm just acting weird! I'm still _**_me!_** _I can still kill anytime I want! It's just that I don't _**_feel _**_like killing anyone right now._

Eighteen nodded, that had to be it.

...right?

"Hey sugar, you looking for a ride?"

Eighteen paused and turned her head. Driving slowly beside her was a large black van with flames marking the exterior. A burly man hung out the window with a dumb looking smile on his face.

_ Not a chance dipshit. _

She began to plan how she was going to punish  _ this  _ individual for addressing her in such a tasteless manner as she said. "No thank you. I'm actually right where I-"

"C'mon sugar, I  _ insist. _ "

As if on command, the side door slid open and two  _ large  _ men jumped out. They rushed her, moving as fast as they could, which was painfully slow to Eighteen.

_ Is this really happening right now? _

Their massive, sweaty hands grabbed ahold of each of her arms and began to attempt to pull her towards the open doors of the vehicle.

Eighteen stood stiff as they struggled to pull her. Her eyes turned to the few bystanders. They clearly saw what was happening, but not one of them were stepping in to help her. She was just a  _ defenceless _ young girl wasn't she? Shouldn't someone be trying to save her? Their faces read terror, fear,  _ weakness.  _ She knew that none of them would step in.

She raised her eyebrows at a man standing a mere ten feet away, a silent ' _ you planning to help any time soon?' _

He looked about ready to piss himself.

_ Pathetic. This is why I hate you all. _

Her eyes lazily scanned the two men struggling to move her even an inch from where she was standing. One of them was red in the face as the other grunted painfully loud.

She internally sighed. Not only were the bystanders doing  _ nothing _ , but she couldn't get rid of these guys without making it  _ evident  _ that she wasn't who she was pretending to be.

She looked through the open side door. There were beer bottles littering the ground, as well as rope and duct tape. To say that the execution of this attempted kidnapping was anything more than amatuer would be an exaggeration. She'd been keeping herself in check all day now, mostly because she'd found it more entertaining to hurt these people than actually  _ kill  _ them, but now that  _ itch  _ was coming back.

She knew what she had to do.

"Yeah alright let's do this." She rolled her eyes as she shrugged off their grips and stepped into the van herself.

_ It reeks of guy smell in here. _

It smelled like Seventeen's room after three weeks of settling in.

That was usually the time she made them switch houses.

As she sat down she could see the two men follow in behind her, out of breath and confused. They shot each other looks that read 'what the hell just happened?'.

"Get in! Get in! I see some people pulling out their phones!" Hurried the driver.

Eighteen patiently waited with arms crossed as the two oafs scrambled into the car, one tripping on a beer bottle before slamming into the floor. The door slid closed as the van sped off, screeching as it tore down the road.

Eighteen sat quietly as the two obese men sat on either side of her.

"Alright girly, now you ain't gonna be a problem now are ya?" His hand slowly fell on her thigh before beginning to climb up her jeans.

Eighteen's frown was more defined than it had ever been. "Not for another few seconds."

The man paused at this comment. "What?"

"I have to wait until your friend up there is going fast enough before I kill all of you."

A confused frown pulled at the two men's faces, before they began to smile, and then they were laughing.

" **You** , are gonna kill  **us** ?" The man with his hand on her thigh bellowed.

"Yup."

The other man had begun to collect the duct tape and rope from the ground. Still laughing as he began to move towards her, he said. "And how do you plan on doing that girly?"

"Like this."

Eighteen immediately reached down and crushed the hand on her thigh, blood exploded from the appendage as it crumpled like tissue paper. Before he could scream out in pain Eighteen grabbed the side of his head and slammed it against the wall of the van. A sickening crunch later, the man fell limp. She'd wanted to explode it against the van's wall, but knew if she did  _ that  _ she'd get blood all over her clothes.

Despite this, a smile crawled up Eighteen's lips. She had actually  _ enjoyed  _ that kill. It hadn't left her with that empty feeling back at North city when she'd picked off that man crawling out of the rubble.

"What was that?" Called out the driver,his eyes focused on the road. "What was that noise!?"

She grinned as she saw the second man, the one who had been fiddling with the tape began to  _ tremble  _ in fear like all the other humans she'd slaughtered. That immediate transition from predator to prey, that realization of just how absolutely  _ fucked  _ he was, it was  _ intoxicating  _ to see.

A deep, evil smile pulled at the woman's lips.

"P-P-Please, I- I'm sorry, o-okay? I, I didn't mean to-" Eighteen silenced him as she reached out, grabbing the back of his head before slamming it face first into the van's metallic floor. It made a sickening crack as his head splattered across the floor of the van. She frowned as a splash of his blood made its way onto her boots.

_ Well, I guess it would make sense if a  _ ** _little _ ** _ bit of blood got on me. _

"Hey! Guys! What the hell are you doing back there?" The drivers head turned to look over his shoulder, only to see Eighteen crouched beside him, her face hovering mere inches away from his. He startled, swerving for a moment before regaining control of the van. Eighteen could hear a vehicle in an adjacent lane honk somewhere behind them.

"What the-? Where's-"

"Careful," she said coyly, "You should keep your eyes on the road. Otherwise," she casually leaned forward, placing a hand on the leg operating the pedals and pushing down. "You might just crash."

She heard the man yelp as she applied a painful amount of force on his leg, so much so that he couldn't even move his foot out of the way.

"H-hey! Stop it you crazy bitch!"

Eighteen watched him with a coy smile. She could feel his desperate attempts to raise his thigh and release the pedal as their speed climbed.

_ 60...70...80… _

She could hear the engine struggling to accelerate further as the man swerved left and right trying to avoid the traffic with one hand as the other desperately attempted to pull Eighteen's hand away from his knee.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Do you want to kill us all!? Guys!  **Guys** ! Get this bitch off of me or we're going to-" The man looked over his shoulder at that moment. His sentence slowly fell away as his face grew pale, his eyes taking in the sight of what had at one point been his friends.

Immediately he pulled his attention back to where Eighteen was leaning still amused by the situation. To his credit, he was still weaving around traffic relatively effectively despite the speedometer reading 120mph.

"W-who are you?" He whispered, his voice trembling. He'd stopped attempting to pull his leg free from her grip now. Both of his quivering arms were at the wheel now desperately trying to avoid traffic.

As Eighteen leaned in closer to the man, her sinister gaze locked onto his, her other hand casually stretched out and took a hold of the steering wheel.

"I go by a bunch of names, demon, murderer,  _ monster _ …" The man had pulled away so far that he was leaning up against the window now, trembling in fear. "But the name  _ you  _ probably know me as is Android Eighteen." She smiled darkly, "Nice to meet you."

Then, she jerked the wheel.

_ -Ten minutes later- _

Eighteen could hear sirens now. She figured there would be ambulances hoping to save what little was left of their splattered bodies.

She hadn't  _ meant  _ to collide with a brick building, but she had to admit that the result had been  _ very  _ interesting to see.

She watched as eyes pulled away from her to look towards where red and blue flashing lights were starting to appear.

Eighteen decided to use this moment to slip away as she retreated into the growing crowd.

"Hey! Where'd that girl go?"

She could hear the man who'd tried to steady her before call out for her.

She grinned.

No one would be able to accurately remember her. There was too much blood, too much carnage for  _ her  _ to be memorable. No one had been looking at the lone survivor of the crash, and the few who had wouldn't remember enough to give an accurate enough description for the police to go off of. Not like they could do anything to her if they  _ did  _ find her.

Eighteen could picture it now.

" _ Hey you! We want you for questioning!" _

" _ Me?" _

** _kaboom_ **

Eighteen's smile was unwavering as she casually walked out of the crowd and began to make her way down the street. She hadn't realized how  _ fun  _ this would be.

_ Maybe I should go downtown and see what I can get into. _

She knew that crime was more common there, and with her being just a petite, attractive,  _ defenseless _ , girl, she was certain  _ someone  _ would try to take advantage of her.

She paused at this.

_ Wait,  _ ** _why _ ** _ was that fun? _

She looked over her shoulder at the crowd of people. She could kill any one of them if she wanted to. She could easily raise a hand and blow them all to oblivion if she felt like it.

But that was just it, she  _ didn't  _ feel like it. She picked out a young woman with a round shape to her and pictured how she could kill her. She even raised a hand towards her in preparation to fire an energy blast. But the drive, the motivation just wasn't there.

A frown pulled at the woman's lips. When she'd been in the van, when she'd smashed the man's head against the side of the van, it had felt  _ good _ . She'd felt like her old self again, like the murdering, evil, beautiful mistress of death that she'd always been. But now, that feeling was gone again. Looking at the woman, she couldn't bring herself to blow her up. It was like the man in the rubble again, like the people in the building she'd destroyed only a few days ago.

It felt  _ empty _ .

_ Damn it! _

She internally fumed as she let her arm fall to her side. For the briefest of moments during that drive she'd thought she'd fixed her problem. That she was back to her old self, that the doubt, the uncertainty had finally worked through her system and that she could  _ kill  _ like her old self again.

She sighed.

_ Seems like I'm back at square one. _

She pocketed her hands as she turned away from the crowd, kicking a pebble that shot across the street and pinged against a stop sign.

_ I've been goofing off for too long now. I need to get on with my plan. Clearly I'm not gonna get back to normal doing this crap. _

The woman looked up with a frown, searching for a decent sized building with an appropriately sized alley way for her to make herself hidden in.

As she walked down the sidewalk searching, she internally tried to make sense of why she'd been so  _ eager  _ to kill then as opposed to right now.

_ It's not like those guys had been any different to the people out here. They were just as weak and pathetic as all the other humans on the streets. So what was it? Was it that they were attempting to kidnap me? I mean sure, it was annoying, but it's not like they had any semblance of a chance at succeeding. It's not like I could get mad at them attempting to- _

Eighteen suddenly froze in place, her eyes taking in a sight she hadn't expected in the slightest. Her eyes bulged as she registered what, or rather,  **who ** she was seeing.

Walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road, an ice cream cone in hand with that lavender haired  _ brat  _ walking alongside him.

_ Blondie? _

_ -Gohan- _

A pleasant smile rested on Gohan's lips as he made his way down the sidewalk. It'd been a  _ long  _ time since he'd had ice cream. He'd chosen mint this time around. He thought it was just alright.

Trunks was walking beside him, shooting him strange looks in between mouthfuls of his chocolate chip. Gohan knew that  _ this  _ had not been what the boy had expected when he'd finally brought the Senzu beans from Korrin.

Trunks had been ready to get right back to training, and typically, that would be  _ exactly  _ what they would do following a defeat like the one he'd had.

_ But that's the entire point of this isn't it? _

Gohan knew that getting back to training was the obvious decision to make. To get stronger, fight harder, etc. But that would just be falling back into the same old habits.

_ And If I want to  _ ** _truly _ ** _ get stronger, if I want to change for the better...than I need to break free from those habits. _

"Gohan," Trunks said swallowing another bite of ice cream. "What are we doing right now?".

"Isn't it obvious?"

Trunks raised an eyebrow.

The elder Saiyan smiled. "We're enjoying some ice cream."

They were dressed casually. Gohan in some simple jeans and a black shirt with one sleeve tied off. Trunks in some baggy pants he seemed to favor and a long sleeve blue shirt.

Trunks grumbled, "That's not what I mean and you know it."

Gohan's smile fell slightly. What could he tell the boy? He didn't understand it fully either. Hell, this was just a guess as to what he needed to do to break out of his habits. Something random and odd and new and just something that wouldn't be the same thing, the same  _ routine _ . That was all this really was. Something  _ new  _ to add to the equation. Whether it was the right thing to add, Gohan had no idea.

The man shrugged, "Honestly? I just thought it would be nice to go out for ice cream for once. You know, try something new." He ended his response with a bite of his cone.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Trunks frowning at his response. It was clear to him that the boy wasn't satisfied with his answer, he didn't blame him, but appreciated that he seemed content to leave it alone for now.

_ Thanks Trunks. _

Gohan smiled.

"Whoa! What's going on over there?" Trunks pointed down the road where a crowd had gathered. Not a moment later did the sound of sirens fill their ears before an ambulance and police raced past them.

Trunks began to stand on the tips of his toes trying to see past the growing crowd. "I wonder what happened!" He announced with a morbid curiosity.

Gohan frowned as he did the same. He didn't like to  _ see _ people hurt, he never liked to  _ see  _ it, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to  _ know  _ what had happened. Being over a head taller than Trunks, he could see slightly over the crowd, making out the top of an  _ obliterated  _ van and a splatter of red that crawled up the brick wall.

_ A car accident...and a bad one. _

"C'mon Trunks, lets go the other way." He said as he stopped and turned back. He imagined Bulma wouldn't want Trunks seeing even more gore than he already had in his fourteen short years.

"Awe c'mon! I wanna see!"

"No Trunks." He spoke with a sternness to his voice that told the boy to leave it alone.

The lavender haired teen sighed as he turned with his mentor. "Alright alright fine. Where are we going now though?"

Gohan frowned at the question. Where  _ were  _ they going now? He remembered how an easy past time activity had been to go to the movies, but ever since the movie industry had collapsed, movie theaters had all but gone out of business. The only ones still around played reruns and little else. The elder Saiyan knew that there had to be other things that people did for fun in town, but being home schooled in a mountain range for the first half of his life followed by years of isolation in training left the young man without many other ideas.

"Hmmm…" His attention turned to the sky, where the setting sun was casting an orange glow across the clouds.

"It's getting late. Maybe it's a good time to go back?"

Trunks shrugged. "Yeah, alright."

The teen kneeled in preparation to take flight when Gohan said. "What are you doing?"

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Getting ready to fly?"

If Gohan could cross his arms he would have in that moment. "With all these people around?"

"So what?"

"You do realize that the only people that are known to fly are the  _ Androids  _ and the 'Golden warrior'." Gohan was internally glad that they'd chosen to go with that name for him. It made walking around town as himself easy since everyone only knew him in his Super Saiyan form.

He watched as the realization hit the boy. If he flew off now, it would cause mass panic.

"Ooohhh, yeah that makes sense...so...what do we do? Hail a taxi…?"

Gohan rolled his eyes. "C'mon, follow me."

The two turned a corner before walking down an alley where they could see no one. Gohan concentrated on the life forces in the area, waiting until he was certain that no one was close before coming to a stop.

"We good to go?" asked Trunks.

"Just a sec," Gohan turned his head and looked down the alley behind them, his brow furrowed as he thought he'd caught movement diving just behind a large dumpster. He stretched out his senses and couldn't sense anything.

_ Must have been a trick of the light I guess… _

He frowned, for some reason his instincts were telling him something was off…

"Gohan c'mon! No one's around! Let's take off already!"

Gohan pulled his attention away from the dumpster. He knew Trunks was right, they could both sense life energy and no one was around for quite a distance.

_ My nerves must be on edge. _

He hadn't actually taken a walk around civilization for the better part of a year now. It'd been a waste of time when he could be either training himself or training Trunks. Maybe having so many people around for once was messing with him?

_ Yeah, that's gotta be it. _

The man nodded, "Yeah, we can head out."

Trunks smiled before taking the final bite of his cone and shooting into the sky.

Gohan quickly followed.

_ -Eighteen- _

Eighteen couldn't believe her own luck as she followed the two a good distance away. She'd been sure that Blondie -er- not-so-Blondie had caught a glimpse of her back there in the alley, but for some reason he'd chosen to ignore her.

_ This can't be real right now. Did I eat a rabbits foot wrapped in four leaf clovers and don't remember it? _

She watched as the duo traveled a good distance before coming to stop and landing next to an unassuming round building. She stayed above as they spoke about something before the lavender haired boy entered the residence  _ without  _ Blondie much to her surprise.

_ Huh, didn't think that they lived separately. _

She watched as the man looked around a second time before blasting off into the sky again. Eighteen was quick to retreat as she shot backwards into the clouds, taking a mental note of the residence as she did so.

_ Now I know where you live robin… _

She watched as Blondie took off in an opposite direction.

_ But let's see if we can't find out where Batman lives… _

She blasted off in pursuit.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, yeah some things are happening haha. I'm only half satisfied with how this chapter turned out. I hit all the key notes and enjoyed writing Eighteen's perspective but...hmm I don't know, I guess I'll leave it for all of you to judge. I'm often left unsatisfied with my chapters no matter how well they are received. I don't have much else to say so...  
Until next time!


	5. An Inquiry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Android Eighteen finally gets the opportunity she needs to speak to Gohan, but will she take it?

_ -Gohan- _

A thin frown pulled at Gohan’s lips. The entire flight back he’d been looking over his shoulder and checking his peripherals. He’d been expanding his senses, reducing them, fluctuating them like a radar, and still, nothing. But his instincts continued to scream at him, telling him something was wrong.

_ You’re getting paranoid. _

He told himself after looking over his shoulder for the third time in ten minutes with nothing interesting to report. Finally he arrived at a simple brick three story structure with a fire escape on one side. Landing on the dark metallic platform extending out from the third floor, he checked all around him, one last check to make sure the coast was clear before opening the window and disappearing inside.

Gohan rarely used his front door for anything. It was far too slow, pushing the button for the elevator, waiting, pushing the button for the top floor, waiting, and having to remember those darn keys all the time.

He much preferred his method. Leave his window open and just make sure to close it afterwards. It wasn’t like too many people were going to randomly climb a three story building just to see if a window happened to be unlocked.

_ ...not like there’s much to steal anyway… _

He thought passingly as he stepped further into his apartment. It was empty for the most part except for the essentials. If you were to judge it solely on the living room you might mistake the place for being vacant. In fact, you would be partially right in that assumption. Gohan never used this room. He didn’t have any friends to have over so no need for a couch. His mom had always told him how television would rot his brain, so he’d never bothered to buy a television. The room was barrain, empty except for a few crumbs from food he spilled on his walk from the kitchen to the bedroom. 

The Half-Saiyan questioned whether he felt hungry or not as he paused next to the counter separating the kitchen from the living room. After a few moments he shrugged. He’d eaten with Trunks earlier. 

He’d already taken off his shirt by the time he’d entered the bedroom. Tossing it to the side of the room, he turned to the flat simply designed bed in the corner of the otherwise empty room. He didn’t have a lot of clothes, the only one he really wore was his fighting Gi. The only times he would change this routine was if he was going to the  _ rare _ gathering or was going out on the town, which he hadn’t in over a year if he didn't count his time with Trunks earlier in the day. This meant that there was no necessity for a dresser. He had 3 different changes of clothes apart from his fighting gi which he kept in neat folded piles in the corner of the room. 

The only structure of any note within the room aside from the bed and the lack of anything else was a massive pile of books next to the bed. With little time outside of training and eating, Gohan had taken to reading just before bed. 

That wasn’t to say that he wouldn’t occasionally forget to sleep if he lost track of time. 

_ But that’s the book’s fault. _

If the book happened to be really good, it wasn’t  _ his  _ fault if he lost track of time and read on until morning.

He plopped down on the bed laying on his back as he reached over with his hand and selected the novel he’d started the other night. It was about a character who’d found out his father was actually training him to be a killing machine and his rebellion against a system that supported such a treatment. It wasn’t entirely original, but Gohan found he’d enjoyed the  _ way  _ the author wrote, rather than the subject matter alone.

He’d been a few pages in when he stopped, letting his arm fall to the side of the bed as his gaze remained a fixed upward.

_ ...I do this every night… _

He idly thought to himself. It was the truth. This was what he did every night when the sun got low. He’d get home, fix himself a simple meal, and read a book until exhaustion took him. It was nice, simple and  _ familiar. _

Gohan frowned.

Several minutes went by before the Saiyan eventually pushed himself up and off his bed, heading towards the showers. 

_ It’s time to spice things up. _

_ -Eighteen- _

Eighteen had been grinning ear to ear when Blondie had finally arrived at the apartment. It was  _ smaller  _ than she pictured it, but she guessed that he preferred to be secluded over having a lavish house for everyone to see. She’d been waiting for twenty minutes, hoping that he would go to sleep indicated by his lights going out, but concluded that it wasn’t  _ that  _ late in the day, so it was entirely possible he was watching a show or maybe eating, suggesting that he wouldn’t be going to bed for  _ hours _ .

There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to wait that long.

Brushing herself off, the girl prepared to take off. She’d wanted to sneak in and take a look at how Blondie lived but she could do that any time he wasn’t around. She’d noted the fact that he left his window open. A reasonable breach in security. Of course it wasn’t like a locked window would stop her anyway.

Just as she began to float into the air, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Raising an eyebrow, the woman turned her attention towards it to find Gohan, his hair wet from a shower, his clothes changed as he stepped out onto the fire escape. Closing the window behind him, he lifted into the air before taking off.

_ Interesting… _

She smiled to herself as she slowly followed the young man. 

_ I didn’t take you as someone with a nightlife Blondie… _

She trailed him for a long time, watching as he seemed to be...looking for something?

Eighteen frowned, it looked like he didn’t actually know where he was going. He kept pausing and hovering over buildings with neon lights before continuing towards  _ wherever  _ they were going.

Eighteen growled. She was getting annoyed at this point. Fifteen minutes had gone by and he  _ still  _ hadn’t figured out where he was going. She was just about ready to give up when finally he landed.

A relieved sigh escaped Eighteen’s lips. 

_ Finally  _

She thought to herself as she remained in the sky looking down. It seems that he’d chosen a location called ‘The Blue Dragon’.

_ A bar?  _ Eighteen recognized immediately from the aroma and music seeping out of the place.

_ What is he doing at a bar? Is Blondie gonna get shit faced? _

Her frown quickly shifted into a grin. 

_ This is  _ ** _perfect!_ **

Alcohol was known for making people  _ talkative _ . She literally couldn’t picture a better scenario for this plan to take effect. Her smile was wide as she touched down around the corner and began to casually stride towards the bar. Her eyes had a predatorial glint to them.

_ I’m coming for you Blondie.  _

_ -Gohan- _

_ What am I doing!? _

He thought to himself as he entered the bar. The smell hit him before everything else. The bitter, sour scent of alcohol all about the room. The next aspect that struck him was the  _ noise _ . It was everywhere. Whether it was the bland, uninspired music blasting out of the speakers in the corners of the large space, or the endless chatter of people discussing their lives, strange events or even just a funny joke. 

The sound of glass clinking against the wood as it was roughly placed atop the counter, the clatter of a spilled plate of food or drink against the sticky floor. 

It was a stark contrast to his quiet, empty apartment on the top floor.

He paused at the entrance, his eyes scanning across the bar, searching for where he should go, where he should  _ be _ . He couldn’t get over how many  _ people  _ there were.

His eyes landed on the bar itself, the countertop where a young woman was issuing out drinks as rowdy, drunk men and woman called out orders.

Gohan decided that would probably be the best place to start, considering he’d read in books about people walking up to the counter where they get their drinks. The young man slowly, casually made his way towards the bar. He tried to appear casual, tried to appear as if he belonged, but couldn’t tell if he was actually doing a good job.

As he walked he scanned the room out of the corners of his eyes. He could see people noticing him, their heads turning towards him as he walked by.

A nervous worry began to bubble within the pit of his stomach.

_ Why are they staring at me? Do they recognize me? Do they know who I am? _

He felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. He’d seemingly not been recognized all day. He’d gotten used to assuming that his Super Saiyan form had been enough of a disguise to let him walk around town without anyone noticing him. He didn’t want people noticing him, recognizing him, pointing him out to be the ‘Golden Warrior’ as they called him. It was what had kept him away from big cities for all this time. Today had been an acception, and he’d been pleasantly surprised when no one had seemed to have noticed his arrival in town. No Super Saiyan meant no Golden Warrior, or so it seemed.

Had he been wrong? Now that they were closer, could they tell?

The young man slowed to a stop as he focused less of his attention on acting normal and looked down at himself to make sure he didn’t have a tag sticking out or something else embarrassing.

_ Oh… _

He realized as he studied the people closer, they weren’t looking at his  _ face _ , they were looking slightly lower.

_ I guess it’s not every day that you see a man missing an arm… _

Gohan sighed as he continued his walk to an open bar stool at the end of the bar. He plopped down and hunched over the bar like he’d read dozens of protagonists do in his books. This... _ seemed  _ like the right thing to do. Well, there was that and the fact it meant that he didn’t have to engage with any direct eye contact.

_ Seriously, what  _ ** _am _ ** _ I doing here!? _

The young man sighed as he shook his head. 

This was a mistake. He shouldn't be here. He’d only gone in the first place due to a lack of knowing  _ where else  _ he could go at this time of night. He only knew the stereotypes for going out from the books he read. This setting had been typical for his protagonists to wind up one time or another. He’d figured, why not? Give it a shot.

But he was quickly regretting it now. He didn’t like all the people, loud and brash, it wasn’t something he was used to having lived the majority of his life in isolation.

_ Let’s go. _

Gohan had just prepared to leave when a chipper voice called out. “So tall dark and grumpy, what can I get for you?”

Gohan blinked.

_ Talk dark and...what? _

The Saiyan raised his head to see the barkeep had come over to him. She was leaning on the edge with an elbow displaying a bright and energetic smile. Her hair was brown tied in two long braids that rested on either shoulder running down her professional server attire. Her eyes were a pleasant shade of green as Gohan saw himself reflect off of them.

“Gloomy?” He asked with a sheepish smile. He hadn’t thought he’d looked ‘gloomy’.

Her smile widened. “Well when you come over to my bar all hunched over like that, I had to assume. Although I’m glad to see that you aren’t! What can I start you off with?”

Gohan froze. 

He didn’t have a single clue what he should ask for.

“Uh, just a, um.” He stammered trying to come up with something. They never went into detail about the drinks they got in the books he read. It was always vague terms like ‘beer’ or a catch all term like ‘moonshine’.

Gohan panicked. He’d been sitting there staring at her for too long now. He needed an answer, any answer.

“Just a, uh, beer.”

The bartender blinked once before bursting out laughing.

“Do you know what  _ type  _ you’d want?” She said smiling and wiping a tear from her eye.

“...” He was out of ideas. 

“Um…” He let loose a deep and defeated sigh. “Look, I’m just gonna say it. I don’t have the slightest knowledge on liquor. This is the first time I’m trying it. Do you have anything for a new drinker?”

The woman’s smile eased into a comfortable understanding. “Yeah, I figured as much. I always love giving newbies a hard time. I don’t get a lot of you nowadays. Looks like everyone is taking up drinking as of late…” She trailed off with an annoyed gaze before gently shaking her head free of the rogue thought. “But that’s just good for business!” she phoned a smile.

Gohan took a brief second to look around. The bar was small, barely larger than a master bedroom, and yet it was filled to the  _ brim _ with people, laughing, drinking, forgetting their worries…

Gohan turned back.

_ Maybe that’s not such a bad idea… _

“My name’s Lime by the way. If I think someone is going to be a regular I like to get their name.” She smiled cutely before offering her hand to shake.

The Saiyan smiled, “Gohan.” As he extended his hand to shake it.

He noticed her gaze slip below for a moment, her smile twitching just a second before returning to meet his eye.

Gohan internally frowned. She’d noticed his arm. 

“So you want a short list on the  _ better  _ side of the selection?”

The smile returned to his lips as she said this. At least she didn’t ask about it. That was a kindness. He hadn’t realized until he’d actually gone into the city with Trunks for the first time in he didn’t know how long, but his arm, or rather, lack thereof, seemed to draw a lot of attention. It was a deep and impactful wound, signs a potential victim or survivor from something drastic, it told a  _ story  _ before they even met him. When he’d stopped for ice cream with Trunks, the vendor had asked him about it, and he’d noticed the conversations in the line behind him suddenly quiet themselfs. It’d been a minor drop, but enough that he figured the majority of the line would hear his story once he’d told it.

He shrugged and said he was born with it. The line resumed their activities. Trunks shot him a strange look.

“Yes please.” He answered quickly.

“We got the house special Blue Dragon blood, some fireball mix drinks, a discount on the ‘Golden warrior’, a-  
Gohan raised a hand to stop her. “Wait, the ‘golden warrior’?” he repeated.

She shot him a sad smile. “Hey, even if you aren’t the biggest fan of him, doesn’t mean there aren’t other people that believe in him. The drink is just a gimmick really, just something for people to take occasionally and pretend to be strong for a little bit for the joke of it.”

Gohan smiled, they’d made a  _ drink _ out of him. “No no, I actually  _ am  _ a fan. I was just surprised by the name. I’ll take one of those.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that buddy? It’s called the ‘Golden warrior’ for a reason, it’s  _ strong _ .”

Gohan grinned.

_ Well, dad always said the best way into the lake was to dive right in! _

“I’m certain. I’ll take a Golden warrior.”

She smiled at him. “I’ll get right on that.”

_ -Eighteen- _

She’d decided to wait a few minutes to go in as to not seem like she’d been right on his heels somehow. She still wasn’t certain if he  _ hadn’t  _ spotted her earlier and had just been playing along.

She stepped inside the bar, boring, dumb music blasting through the speakers. People all around her, some dancing, others laughing, their eyes glazed over with the scent of liquor on their lips.

She hated it. Hated it immediately. She’d never been one for bars before or after her... _ change _ . Of course there was the fact that she’d been too young to legally enter a bar before her transformation, but there were  _ fake ID’s  _ out there for a reason.

Her eyes scanned the room, searching for Blondie before she spotted him at the end of the bar talking with the bartender. She didn’t stop her gaze about the room; however, she continued all the way through as to appear like she was just getting a general layout of the room. He could see her now, she didn’t need him knowing that she was watching  _ him _ .

She walked forward towards the bar, she’d noticed an open seat on the other side of the long counter space. She could see out of the corner of her eye heads slightly turning her direction. They were not so much that it was blatantly obvious as their partners were often times just next to them, but enough that Eighteen noticed it.

_ Great, next we’re going to have some raging drunk come up to me and ask to make out. _

She internally gagged at the mental image.

She sat down on the stool casually as the bartender came over. “What can I get ya darl-”

“Margarita, thank you.” She spoke with a sharpness to her voice, a dismissing tone. She didn’t want to have a drawn out conversation with this meager human. She watched the bartender blink once as she was interrupted before a bright smile returned to her features.

“Right away.” She chimed, seemingly unaffected by her rudeness.

_ She’s been doing this for years. She knows how to put on a good smile. _

Eighteen mentally reported. She hadn’t liked  _ bars  _ but that didn’t mean she hadn’t enjoyed a drink or two back when she’d actually socialized with these creatures. She knew how  _ dumb  _ people could get when they drank just one too many. 

_ Focus Eighteen, focus. _

She told herself as she turned her head away to lean against her hand in a bored expression, but her eyes partially obscured by the thick rims of her glasses, were on Blondie.

The bartender had delivered a bronze, or was that more golden? Colored drink that had been lit on fire producing a yellow glow. 

_ Oh my god the narcissist got a drink about himself. _

Eighteen had already figured out that people didn’t seem to recognize him in this form, without his golden locks and fiery aura. To be honest that was how she remembered him too, not this calm looking man dressed in normal clothes which she’d noticed were just some dark colored jeans and a collared blue button down. She questioned if he didn’t have his wound if she would have recognized him. 

But to see him ordering a drink based on  _ himself _ ? She couldn’t believe it.

_ -Gohan- _

He stared down at the glass with wide eyes.

_ Whoa _ .

He saw the barkeep leaning on one elbow, watching him with a devious grin. “Well? Drink up.”

He smiled sheepishly as he reached out and took glass in his hand, slowly raising it to his face before pausing as the heat of the small flame warmed his face.

“...I’m supposed to blow it out right?” He asked meeting Lime’s eye with a nervous frown.

The woman stifled a laugh before answering. “Yes you’re  _ supposed  _ to blow it out, but I mean, if you want to try and drink it while it’s flaming you’re free to try.”

“Har har,” He smiled before blowing out the flames and raising the glass to his lips. 

He took a sip.

The man did a slow recoil from the cup as the taste hit his tongue. It was strong, like fire, cinnamon, a warm, burning sensation as it ran down his throat.

He eyed the drink with a raised eyebrow.

“Well?” Lime asked with a bright smile.

Gohan smacked his lips once, a coy grin pulling at his lips. He pulled his eyes away from the glass to meet Lime’s, a devious look spreading across his face.

Lime raised an expectant eyebrow.

And then Gohan tilted his head back, and downed the rest of the cup. Then he swallowed, having not let a single drop slip down his chin, and lowered his head back to eye level.

Both of Lime’s eyebrows were raised now. An impressed smile resting on her lips.

“I quite liked it.” He felt a warmth in his chest now. “I think I’ll have another.”

_ -Eighteen- _

_ Well, Blondie sure knows how to handle his liquor.  _

She thought to herself as she watched the bartender return with an identical drink as the first. She hadn't expected him to throw it back like that. 

She took a small sip from her modest drink. 

She’d decided to hang back until he’d downed maybe three or four more glasses before approaching him. She wanted him talkative, but not  _ too  _ talkative. She also had to make sure that she didn’t accidentally drink too much as well. Eighteen had always wondered why Dr.Gero had decided to leave their internal organs intact. Despite being functional, they  _ were  _ effectively worthless. It’d taken her and her brother some time to realize it, but their virtually unlimited energy supply effectively provided everything their body needed to survive. It charged her cells and organs with energy to keep them alive, It hardend her skin and gave her incredible strength along with the limb augmentations. It did everything she needed it to, but that didn’t mean that she still  _ couldn’t  _ eat or drink. Food still affected her the same way as a human did, she digested and consumed just like any human. As a result, she could still drink and feel the effects of substances if she wasn’t mindful.

_ Probably didn’t  _ ** _need _ ** _ to remove my organs to complete the project. _

She thought to herself. She couldn’t imagine Dr. Gero maintaining her internal organs for any reason other than, it was easier to just leave them in and work around them than take them out and replace the space.

She frowned to herself, taking a sip from her glass. It wasn’t all bad, she did  _ like  _ having the option to get drunk. She just didn’t do it much. It wasn’t like she had anyone but Seventeen to drink with, and for one reason or another whenever her brother would touch a drop of liquor, he’d always get violent. It annoyed her to no end when he would start destroying things just to destroy them.

She watched as Gohan claimed his second drink before bringing it to his lips with a vigor.

_ Perfect, looks like I won’t have to wait long. I’ll head over in maybe ten, fifteen- _

Her thoughts froze as she felt a large hand place itself on the center of her back, the toxic scent of someone who had clearly had too much to drink on her cheek. She turned her head slightly, meeting the gaze of a gruff looking, overweight man with a mess of hair that he likely thought was a cool, refined looking beard but to her it looked like a bird had figured out how to make a nest on pure concentrated  _ ugly _ .

“Hey there cutie, how about I buy you a drink eh? What would you like? Android Oil? Dragon blood?”

Eighteen raised an eyebrow, they’d made a drink out of  _ her _ ?

_ Neat. _

But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t absolutely  _ revulsed  _ by the man’s unwanted presence. 

“No thanks, I’m good with what I got.” She raised her hand, swinging the glass in his face before setting it back down. “But you go wild buddy.” She used her other hand to aggressively swat his fingers away from her back.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as the man staggered back, his brows furrowed with an insulted look about him. He took a second to gather himself again before smiling, attempting to appear casual as he approached her again with hands outstretched for a hug.

“C’mon, no need to be rude, I’m just trying to make a friend-”

“Get the hint man. I’m  **not ** interested.” Eighteen spoke sharply, sneering at the man as she did. 

She watched as he recoiled a second time before his face contorted into a snarl. 

“Hey fuck you bitch! I was jest tryin to be niace and have a good time but ya decided to be a bitch about-”

Eighteens hand was gripping her glass tighter and tighter. She  _ really  _ couldn’t have a confrontation right now with Blondie literally sitting ten feet away. Despite this, she was finding it harder and harder to sit their as the drunk continued to rattle off insults.

“You think that just cuz you’re some  _ bitch  _ at the bar that you’re somehow better than me?”

Eighteen felt the pressure she was exuding on the glass begin to crack, a thin fracture now running down the cup. She briefly looked about the room. Eyes were on her, half of the bar even, but none were stepping in. It was just like the van, everyone could  _ see  _ the ruckus, but no one actually wanted to step in and help. She wondered why she’d been approached so much today, but looking about the room, she could see it now. All the other women were in groups, either with their supposed love interest for the night or a large group of girls. She couldn’t find a single other girl by herself in the room.

_ Oh. _

“You think that jest cuz ya got eh drank, you get ta just blow meh off?” She watched as he looked up at her face, down at the drink in her hand and then back to her. 

_ ...don’t you fucking dare… _

He swung out a drunk hand, attempting to slap the drink out of her hand. Eighteen waited until he was just about to touch the glass before she crushed it, the glass exploded in her palm, and slicing into his hand as the shards shot out.

He immediately recoiled waving his now bleeding hand like he’d just punched something really hard. She could see the other half of the bar now noticing their exchange.

She recoiled her hand below the counter, pretending she’d been injured as well.

“Heeey guys! What’s going on over here? Anything a free drink might be able to sort out?” The bartender said as she quickly rushed over to where Eighteen was sitting. The panic in her eyes betrayed the easy going smile she was wearing. Eighteen could tell she was trying to deescalate the situation.

“Nah fuck that!” He raised an index finger and shoved it into the back of Eighteen’s head. “This little bitch right here did that on  _ purpose!” _

_ I’m  _ ** _done_ ** **.**

Her patience had run thin. There was only so much she was willing to take from such a vile creature until she snapped.

The woman immediately reached up, grabbing the finger with her hand before violently bending it the wrong way.

A snap followed.

Then a howl of pain.

The man stumbled back clutching his now broken finger with his other hand, crying out that ‘she broke my fucking finger’ and ‘that bitch!’.

_ The classics. _

She snidely chimed to herself as she saw panic swell in the bartenders eyes, her smile fell as she continued to watch the drunk. Eighteen turned her head to watch him too, eyeing him to see what he would do now.

She raised an eyebrow when he grabbed a bottle off of a nearby table.

“H-hey! Wait a minute! Let’s not be rash here-c’mon-let’s-not-get-violent!” The bartender rattled off in a helpless plea for the man to stop as he came charging, or rather  _ stumbling  _ towards Eighteen with a bottle raised above his head.

Eighteen eyed him dangerously as he rushed her. If he tried to break that against her head, she was going to make sure that  _ everything _ he had was broken.

She watched as the arm crashed down towards her, until it suddenly halted midway, a  _ new  _ hand having grabbed his bicep mid-swing.

“How about we leave the nice lady  _ alone _ .”

Eighteen’s eyes were wide with surprise as  _ Blondie  _ stepped between herself and the drunken man, who looked up at him with surprised shock.

“Wha? Who-who the hell ah you?” The man murmured nervously.

Eighteen could see a slight wobble to his otherwise intimidating stance. She could tell that Blondie was feeling the affects of his drinks, if only a little bit. A smile pulled at her lips as she leaned back towards where Lime was standing nervously with her fingers intertwined. 

“Can I get a replacement margarita please?” She asked with a knowing grin.

Lime pulled her gaze away from the conflict, a worried look on her face as she met Eighteen’s gaze. “Um, would you mind waiting for just a moment? There’s kinda something happening right now.”

Eighteen could see the worry in her eyes looking at the two men. It wasn’t hard to understand why. Gohan was wearing clothing that didn’t particularly compliment his otherwise chiseled frame, and he did only have  _ one arm _ . She could see why the bartender was worried.

She stifled a laugh. “Relax…Lime,” She said the name slowly, reading out her name tag. Pointing a single thumb over her shoulder at Gohan, she said “Don’t worry, he’s got this.”

_ -Gohan- _

Gohan felt  _ great. _

Everything, even the man currently staring him down, was just  _ the best _ .

The music, the environment, the  _ smell _ , suddenly, all of it was just so  _ enjoyable  _ to be around.

Gohan felt happy, he felt silly, he felt…

_ Silappy. _

Gohan snorted at his own combination of the words.

“H-hey tha hell you laughin at?”

Gohan was struggling to contain himself. “Nothing, nothing.” He said while doing his best to get serious again. This man had just assaulted the woman behind him. He couldn’t treat that light heartedly. 

He turned and looked over his shoulder at the woman. She was surprisingly pretty with thick black frames and long black hair that cupped her face. She was talking to the bartender about getting another drink.

“Are you okay ma’am?” He asked sternly. He watched as the woman turned her head back to face him. A chill ran down his spine as her eyes fell on him. It was only for a second, but in that second he’d felt like he was staring down the fangs of a viper ready to pounce.

_ Man, liquor is some crazy stuff. _

He smiled again.

“Oh I’m fine  _ sir _ .” She responded coyly putting extra emphasis on the ‘sir’ part. “You think you’re gonna be okay with tipsy over there?”

Gohan returned his attention to the man who’d raised the bottle again before bringing it down on him. Gohan’s response was immediate, almost so fast that the rest of the bar couldn’t track. 

Well, everyone except the girl with the black hair.

He reached out, snatchin the bottle with his hand before in the same motion colliding his shoulder into the man’s chest  **hard** . The man was knocked to the ground, his head snapping back to meet the wood floor with a  ** _crack_ ** .

Gohan frowned, had he over done it? He’d only meant to push him back a few feet for him to get the picture, but the drunk had dropped like a sack of potatoes. 

“See? Told ya.” He heard the girl say casually to Lime.

He raised an eyebrow. What had they been talking about?

The drunken man rolled on the floor, groaning for several seconds before picking himself up, one hand rubbing the back of his head. He grumbled as he turned around, walking away from Gohan like a child who’d just been punished. He could feel the rest of the bar looking at him now, the man with one arm who just knocked a drunk on his ass. They were eyeing him, studying him, trying to understand him. Not long after their conversations returned, their eyes fell away losing interest. The show was over, no need to watch anymore.

_ Good _ .

He thought to himself. He hadn’t overdone it. 

“Hey there,” he heard a voice call out behind him.

Turning, he saw the woman from before smiling at him with a devious glint in her eyes. Gohan couldn’t figure out what it was about her, but something about the way she was smiling at him was putting him on edge.

“Hello.” He responded plainly, he was trying desperately to sound sober in that moment.

“Thanks for helping me out there. It was really kind of you to step in like that.” Her words were sweet like honey. It was clear by her tone that she was trying to be friendly with him.

Gohan felt his cheeks darken as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. “Ah, it’s no big deal. I’m sure someone else would have if I hadn’t stood up.”

He watched as she snorted. “Well, you’d be surprised.”

_ -Eighteen- _

She watched him with a pleasant smile as he responded to her. “Yeah well, I’m glad I could help all the same.”

He was right where she wanted him. Tipsy, in a good mood, chatty, this was going perfect!

She reached out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you b-” She paused, realizing she’d almost slipped up.

“It’s Gohan.” He answered, treating her statement like a question as he reached out and took her hand in his.

_ ...go with it. _

Her smile broadened as she gently shook his hand up and down. It was odd feeling his hands, or rather,  _ hand _ . Despite being grappled and thrown countless times by the man before her, she’d never felt his hand like this before. If wasn’t gripping her so tight that had she been human the skin would have bruised, but gently, firm, assuring and friendly. 

It was an odd sensation.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Gohan.” She said returning her hand to her side.

“And you as well…?”

She raised an eyebrow, he’d tampered off in his greeting, framing it like a question.

He laughed, “Your  _ name _ .”

_ But you already know my- _

Her eyes grew wide.

_ A  _ ** _name!_ **

She’d been so focused on making the disguise, on pretending convincingly, that she’d  _ completely  _ spaced out the  _ name _ .

_ Fuck  _ ** _fuck!_ ** _ What’s a good fake name! _

Her instincts told her to just go with her old name, before she’d been ‘Eighteen’. 

_ No! What if he knows what my old name is? He could have researched me since then! Nothing to lead back to the real me! _

A name, a  **name** ! She needed to pick one,  _ anyone _ , Sam? No, too boyish, Melody? No she hated that name, it sounded tacky to her.

_ Just pick one damn it! It doesn’t matter! _

She ordered herself as she noticed Gohan raise an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

It was do or die. She needed to pick something  _ now _ . Didn’t matter what, just  _ something _ . She spat out the first name that popped in her head, the most recent female name she’d heard in recent memory.

“Videl.” she blurted out.

_ Videl!? Why the hell did I say Videl! What type of name even is  _ ** _Videl!_ **

“Oh,” Blondie smiled sheepishly. “That’s a unique name.”

_ Yeah no shit sherlock. _

Eighteen sighed internally. She was ‘Videl’ now. It seemed that at every turn that old man in the sports shop was fucking her over.

_ Damn you Hercule. _

“That’s why my parents chose it.” she joked, “Care to join me? I really should buy a drink for the man who  _ saved  _ me.” She really hated playing the damsel in distress, but if  _ stroking his ego  _ was what it took to get him to sit and chat with her, then she’d accept it.

Not like it, but accept it.

He paused, a surprised look on his face. “Join...you?” he repeated.

She frowned, was something the matter? “Yes...unless you’re already sitting with someone?” she looked over towards where he’d been sitting, there wasn’t someone he’d come with had he? He’d seemed mostly alone when he’d arrived. It’d been odd to see someone come alone to a bar, but it wasn’t unheard of.

“Oh, no, no, I’m not sitting with anyone.” He quickly filled the spot next to her. She eyed him as he sat, he shot her a reassuring, pleasant smile as he sat, like a kid surprised that someone had picked him for their team in a baseball game at recess.

She turned her attention to the bar. “Barkeep! I need another one of whatever this man was drinking on me!”

“Another Golden warrior coming up! And as thanks for taking care of that drunk, This round is on the house!”

“Good.” she smiled as she positioned herself facing him, her elbow leaning against the counter with her hand supporting her chin. “So, tell me a little about yourself Gohan, what do you do for fun?”

_ -Gohan- _

_ Don’t mess this up! Don’t mess this up! Don’t mess this up! _

He internally told himself as he prepared to answer. “Well, I’m a big fan of reading haha.” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Is that right?” He watched her turn and take a sip from her colorful looking drink, a bored expression on her face.

_ Reading isn’t fun! _

He chastised himself. He should have made something up rather than admit to his boring life.

_ Well...I guess my day to day is. _

He thought reminding himself that he did on the regular fight the Androids, but that wasn’t something that he could very well admit now could he?

“How about you?” He asked with a bright smile. He wanted to appear energetic, positive, someone she should enjoy talking to. He didn’t know how he’d stumbled into an actual conversation with someone, but he was desperate not to mess it up. He had zero practice making new friends, so he wanted to make sure this one worked.

“Oh me? Well I come to places like this one.” She smiled motioning a hand to the space around them. “I get to meet interesting people like you.” She leaned in, smiling at him with a...he didn’t know what type of gaze that was. It was almost like a predator staring down it’s prey but with a...different type of undertone to it. 

Gohan internally frowned, he realized then that his lack of social activity had made him inept to social cues.

What's more, Gohan had no idea what to say in response.

“That’s...cool.” He awkwardly said as his drink arrived in front of him.

_ Oh thank Kami. _

He immediately stretched out his hand and took it. He hadn’t expected it, but for some reason every time he drank this stuff it started tasting better and better!

He took a sip.

_ -Eighteen- _

_ Huh, well that was odd. _

He’d completely ignored her seductive advance. She hadn’t known how he would respond to her flirting with him, but she’d figured he do... _ something  _ at least.

_ Maybe he’s just trying to be a gentleman...or maybe he’s just a dense idiot. _

She smiled. She could see that. It didn’t matter to her either way. She just needed him interested in her long enough for her to steer the conversation towards what she needed. She watched as the man downed the drink placed in front of him with  _ vigor _ .

“You liking those Golden warriors are you?”

The man flushed as he set down the empty glass. “Yeah, I guess. They just keep getting tastier ya know?”

She had to laugh at that. She could tell by the redness in his cheeks that he was starting to get very drunk.

“Yeah, I can understand that.” 

“You want one?”

She shrugged. Why not? It’s not like one extra drink could hurt. Besides, she needed him to feel friendly to her. “Sure, I’ll give it a try.”

Internally Eighteen was  _ extremely  _ annoyed. She wanted nothing more than to drive a straight punch into this man’s nose. Who knows? With him being drunk she might actually have the upperhand if they were to trade blows.

_ Just pretend long enough to get your answer, and then get out, five minutes. Ten at  _ ** _max_ ** _ . _

She told herself as she prepared to actually  _ talk  _ to the man who had been the literal bane of her existence for the largest portion of her life.

  
  


_ -twenty minutes later- _

Eighteen was struggling to breath as she held her stomach which ached from her  _ laughing  _ so hard. She hadn’t expected it, but Blondie was actually  _ funny  _ when he had a few drinks in him. 

_ Or maybe I’m a lot easier to make laugh when I have a few drinks in me… _

She thought to herself as she looked over at the counter and saw three empty glasses that  _ she’d  _ personally downed. What could she say? He’d been right, they did get rather  _ tasty  _ after awhile.

“Yup, and then, seeing his office on fire, his shirt with the nipples cut out, and a note that read ‘keep it toasty’ he just walked out.”

“You’re  _ kidding  _ me!?” She laughed again. It was getting harder and harder to breath around this guy. His stories were ridiculous. Somewhere deep down it annoyed Eighteen that Blondie had genuinely managed to make her laugh. She told herself it was just her pretending to find him funny, but now it was getting harder and harder to believe her own reasoning.

_ So he can be funny, so what? _

It didn’t mean that she and her brother weren’t going to rip his remaining limbs off one by one until he was just a human bean with a head.

_ Now  _ ** _that _ ** _ would be funny. _

_ -Gohan- _

A big dumb grin was occupying Gohan’s face as he took another sip. None of the stories he was telling were remotely true, his life was boring for the most part, nothing but training and fighting. He had however read  _ hundreds  _ of stories over the years with funny stories  _ in them _ .

He’d only had to change them up a little bit to make them sound a little bit more believable and he had them laughing harder than he’d ever laughed before in his life.

He felt like the world was spinning as he slowly raised the glass to his lips. So much was happening all around him that he was struggling to take it all in. 

_ I’m glad I’m sitting right now...I think standing might be too much for me at the moment. _

He felt sluggish and like his head was far too heavy for his neck to support by itself. 

The world started to spin faster as he sat there, watching Videl reach out and take another sip of her drink. She was smiling at him, it was a pretty, simple, genuine smile unlike what he’d been seeing earlier. Before it had seemed like she was forcing her smile for some reason, but now? It felt like how it was supposed to. 

Gohan felt like he was going to fall over if the world didn’t stop spinning soon.

_ What can I do right now to stop this? _

He internally pleaded. He needed to block out the world someway visually.

His eyes widened in a drunken realization.

_ I can close my eyes! _

Immediately the Saiyan’s eyes snapped shut. The blackness did help as he felt the spinning sensation beginning to fade away.

“You alright there Gohan?” He heard Videl ask.

“Y-yeah, just...getting the world to stay still for a sec.” He felt like keep his eyes closed for awhile. Of course the warrior in him also wanted to keep an eye on his surroundings at all times. 

_ Ki sense to the rescue! _

He thought to himself singing a ‘da-dadada!’ in his head. The man stretched out his senses, feeling the energy of all of the bar’s occupants around him. It was like a small flame of energy for each of them. He could sense where they were, and had a vague understanding of what they were feeling too if he focused. He could sense Lime, running up and down the bar. Her Ki was energetic which made sense with how she had been on her feet all night. He could feel everyone, he could even sense Trunks in his bed, asleep with Bulma’s ki signature closeby. She wasn’t asleep, he could sense from her active energy.

_ Probably working on some type of fancy project again. _

Then he noticed something off. His eyebrows furrowed. He couldn’t sense Videl right in front of him.

He frowned as he opened his eyes, had she moved?

He could see Videl sitting in the same place she’d been before, looking over at him with a relaxed smile. 

“You okay there big guy?”

“Uh...yeah, just a sec.” He said as he closed his eyes again and focused.

Nothing.

He opened his eyes, confusion written on his face. Why couldn’t he sense her life energy? The only people he’d ever seen before not exude a Ki charge were the Androids...which meant...that Videl had to be…

_ -Eighteen- _

She frowned, noticing the suspicious look crossing Gohan’s features. He looked like he’d just seen something strange and was trying to figure it out as he repeatedly opened and closed his eyes.

“Hey...Videl?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you mind if I ask you a...um, weird sort of personal question?”

_ Weird personal question? _

A devious smile pulled at her lips.

_ Ah,  _ ** _here _ ** _ it comes. The  _ ** _advances_ ** _ . _

Much to Eighteen’s surprise, Gohan hadn’t made a single advance on her or responded to any of her own flirtatious invitations. At first it had offended her, made her think that he wasn’t attracted to her, but she was beginning to realize that he might just be an idiot. It made sense that he would be. But now that he was asking about ‘weird personal questions’ she was certain she was about to get hit on.

_ When’s the first time you did something sexual? _

_ What do like to wear to bed? _

_ Want to come back to my place later? _

She smirked, part of the reason she’d been trying to come off as flirtatious earlier aside from seeking her answer was the idea of building up Blondie, leading him on that she was actually interested in him, and then at the end of the night once she’d gotten her answer, leaving without a word.

It was the ultimate rejection, and if she was going to be  _ forced _ to talk to blondie, she was going to have some fun  _ ruining his night _ .

_ Let’s do this. _

She thought to herself as she prepared herself for the question.

“What is it Gohan? You can ask me  _ anything _ .” She let the word hang there for a while, it’s implications clear to anyone listening in.

He smiled that same, innocent, honest,  _ handsome  _ smile that he always did when she responded positively to him. There wasn’t a trace of any deception in it, like the concept of her message having any  _ dirty  _ implications in it never crossed his mind.

“Do you have any vital organs that are artificial in any way?

“...”

... _ What? _

Eighteen’s face blanked.

** _What!?_ **

Had he figured her out? Why would he ask a question like that unless he’d figured her out!? Did that mean should should try to escape? 

Eighteen felt herself fill with panic. How had he figured her out? Had part of her disguise messed up? Had she laughed too hard and the wig fell to the side? 

She could see that he was still waiting for a response, a genuine curiosity displayed across his features. She couldn’t see a single trace of someone who was playing coy with her. There was no hostility, no aura of tension about his person. He was still facing her the same way he’d been before, his shoulders relaxed, his head tilting slightly to the side as if he didn’t have the current motivation to hold it upright.

His body language told her that he was curious to know her answer, not preparing for a fight.

_ ...wait, is he seriously just asking if I have an artificial body part? Why? Who says that? _

“W-What, do you mean?” She decided to play along. She wasn’t sure if he’d actually found her out or if this was just some devilish coincidence even though she couldn’t see  _ how  _ it could just be a coincidence. 

“Like, you know, some people get a new kidney or like a new heart or something. You wouldn’t happen to have anything like that would you?”

_ Should I go with it? Technically my heart  _ ** _has _ ** _ been augmented to store my unlimited energy supply, but how would  _ ** _he _ ** _ be able to tell that? _

She stammered as he sat there waiting. “I-Well, you see, uh-”

_ To hell with it! He’s taking a stab in the dark! If he doesn’t know, then just go along with it until the questions stop! _

“Uh, yeah actually!” She abruptly let out, hoping that would be the right answer. “I got a uh,” Crap, she didn’t know anything about hearts. “I got a  _ valve  _ replace way back when I was younger. That’s um, why it took me so long to remember it hahaha…” She silently prayed that this response would be enough to satisfy his uncanny curiosity.

She watched him in silence as he frowned, seemingly considering her answer before shrugging. “Huh, well I guess that makes sense.”

_ He guess’s that  _ ** _makes sense_ ** _ ? How the hell does that make sense? No, wait, how the hell could he tell? _

Eighteen fought the urge to return to that topic. She wanted desperately to know  _ how  _ he’d figured out at least partially that she was augmented, even if to him it was on a small scale. 

The annoyance of not knowing ate at her as she sat there, puzzled. She wasn’t going to get an answer to this one was she?

She watched the man carefully as he called for yet  _ another  _ drink. He didn’t appear to be pretending at all. She breathed a sigh of relief internally. That had been far too close, she needed to spin the conversation towards her question  _ now _ . 

A devious smile consumed her lips, she knew exactly how to do it too.

Her previous plan had involved walking up to Blondie when he’d been in ‘yellow mode’ as she called it. But she’d noticed as soon as they’d entered the bar that no one else seemed to recognize Blondie, then it occurred to her that  _ of course  _ they wouldn’t recognize him. He was  _ far  _ different than the man she’d been fighting for all these years. Unlike Blondie, He was calm, nice, talkative, polite, and overall just someone that she actually was enjoying being-

_ NO! _

Her internal thoughts raged at themselves.

_ None of that! _

She looked over towards her emptied glasses, she’d had  _ far  _ too much to drink if she’d started having thoughts like  _ that _ . 

Eighteen internally scowled at herself. She couldn’t believe that she’d actually thought that even for the briefest of moments. She felt like she needed to somehow bleach her mind, whatever that would be.

_ Let’s get this show on the road. _

“Hey Gohan, do you mind if  _ I  _ ask you a strange question now?”

He gave her a nod and smiled. 

She motioned with a finger for him to come in close as she leaned forward. The man raised a curious eyebrow but complied as Eighteen leaned in, cupping her hands over her mouth before whispering. “You’re the golden warrior right?”

The effect was immediate. Gohan’s head recoiled, the drunk expression all but disappeared as his eyes widened, pools of white surrounding tiny islands of onyx.

Eighteen stifled a laugh.

_ -Gohan- _

  
  


_ ...What? _

** _What!?_ **

She knew? She knew who he was? How? When did she figure it out!?

He frowned, looking down at his injury. He supposed that if she’d seen the most recent fight, it’s  _ possible  _ that she recognized him by the missing arm, his face didn’t change when he went Super Saiyan, but he’d figured enough about him  _ had  _ to fool almost everyone.

He sat back stunned, his mouth slightly ajar as Videl let out a soft and pleasant laugh. 

“Relax, relax, I’m not gonna tell anyone. I’m actually a  _ big  _ fan.” She shot him a wink.

The tension in Gohan’s chest eased slightly. He was glad if she really didn’t plan on telling anyone. He did  _ not  _ want everyone to start recognizing him out on the streets if he ever did decide to go out again.

“Oh y-yeah?” He responded trying to return to normality after being revealed in such a straightforward fashion. 

“Are you kidding me? When I saw you stand up to that guy in the bar I couldn’t believe my eyes! I’ve been your  _ biggest  _ fan ever since the Androids showed up!” He could see the excitement in her face as she gushed over him. 

He felt a blush on his face. He would probably want to go out again. He was almost surprised that he had an actual  _ fan _ . He’d been under the impression that people really didn’t like him much, but seeing as he had a drink named after him, and this fan was currently talking to him...maybe he was more liked than he’d assumed. 

“You knew about it being me earlier?”

A sheepish grin spread from Videl’s lips. “I did. I didn’t want to bring it up at first because I wanted to see how you would act before you knew I knew.”

“Huh...how’d I do?”

She smiled, “Well I’m pleasantly surprised to find out that the  _ Golden warrior _ ,” She said the title in a whisper. “Is actually a really nice guy.”

His blush deepened and he paused, thinking about their first interaction with one and other. She’d seen her meet his gaze. She’d looked at him, unflinching, her gaze never shifting downward even for an instant. He hadn’t noticed it before, but she hadn’t even made a passing glance towards his missing arm, like she was used to it, like she’d already looked past it and decided there was more to him then that singular story. It made sense now, she’d already known about the injury. 

She knew the story.

“You don’t mind if I ask a few questions do you? I’ve always wanted to know more about you.” Her eyes pleaded to him, appearing like a child asking for a cookie after bedtime.

She was a  _ fan _ , and not only that, but a fan that had been considerate enough to get to know him before bombarding him with questions. How could he say no?

“Sure thing, fire away.”

_ -Eighteen- _

** _Perfect_ ** .

She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opportunity if she’d wanted to.

“Alright, so, those...lazer things, and the way you fly. How do you do that? Is it because you were given those powers or something?” This question felt like the first question a fan would have. She had to get it out of the way before continuing.

The man laughed as he scratched the back of his head, a nervous tick Eighteen had picked up on earlier on in their conversation. It meant that he was embarrassed.

_ Cute. _

Eighteen frowned. 

She was too drunk for this.

““Well actually, anyone can do that if they train hard enough. Everyone has the ability to learn, it’s just that it takes awhile and is sorta hard too.”

She nods. 

_ Good, he’s being honest. _

It meant that her up coming questions would likely be met with a similar honest attitude. Although she  _ was  _ curious how a  _ mortal  _ managed to get so powerful in the first place. Despite extensive amounts of knowledge on Goku in his earlier years, there was a large gap of information missing about they’re abilities when they were off world, namely, the super Sayain. That transformation was something new all around, and despite being able to overwhelm it, had served to be a problem in the past. Maybe if she had time she would steer the conversation in that direction.

_ Time to respond appropriately… _

She thought to herself begrudgingly.

“That’s so awesome!” She squealed like how she imagined a fan would, it made her gag internally, but it was fun pretending nonetheless. “So you think one day I could learn how to fly? I’ve always wanted to.”

Gohan smiled, “Sure, maybe we could set that up sometime. Flying is actually one of the easier techniques to learn. I bet I could teach you in a month if you really tried.”

Internally, Eighteen was laughing. 

_ It would be a lot quicker than that.  _

Of course she would never actually attend a class with him. This was strictly a one off deal. Get her answer and get out. No second date, no sequel. 

She was ninety nine percent certain.

“Really? That would be wonderful.”

He smiled, his onyx eyes staring into hers. “Ofcourse, I’d be happy to.”

_ ...ninety eight percent.... _

Eighteen internally scowled as she shook her head free of the rogue thoughts.

_ Focus you drunk! Seriously! Do you know who you’re thinking about right now? _

“So, second question, are those powers, or rather…  _ techniques  _ as you call them, what let you know I once had heart surgery?” This was a question that she was actually curious about. She wanted to know what had given her away in the first place. Did she have a tell that she couldn’t see?

“Oh, that.” He laughed rubbing the back of his neck. “Well actually that  _ is _ a technique. Although, I don’t know how this sounds to someone who’s never known about this stuff.”

Eighteen struggled to contain a snicker.

“Well, you see, the ‘powers’ that I have,” She watched as he made quotations with one hand and smiled. 

_ Just doesn’t have the same effect as when you have two hands Blondie. _

“It has to come from something. It’s not magic, it doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. It comes...from us.” He made a gesture to his chest. “It’s our own power brought out to use in new ways. And, well, one of those powers is being able to  _ sense  _ how much power everyone else has, and by association, I can feel where people are, meaning I can sense a person even if I can’t see them. Their life energy. It’s like its just all around me. A third eye sorta. There’s a little bit more to it too. I can sense whether the energy is erratic or unstable, when someone’s mad or sad. I can sense when it’s getting weaker or dim, usually when a person is close to death or when they’re sleeping. If they’re an evil, or kind person, if they have positive or negative intentions.” 

Eighteen blinked.

This was something genuinely new to her. He could... _ sense  _ people? She’d already known about power levels, but  _ this  _ was new information. Dr. Gero had written in his notes about the ability to register a person’s energy signature via a radar. Of course she and Seventeen hadn’t received this addition yet because when they’d been initially turned on for a test he hadn’t gotten to that section of the procedure.

Then it became pretty hard to try and get him to do it after Seventeen ripped his head off.

But that had been a device, a specially designed radar that could sense and register power levels..

Was blondie telling her that you could _learn _how to do this? It sounded mystical, magical, even.  
Maybe she didn’t know as much about Ki as she thought.

“That’s...incredible…” She muttered, genuinely stunned that what he’d described was possible. That was something she would actually want to learn.

Gohan laughed at her response. “Usually it’s the flying and laser beams that everyone gets excited about.”

Eighteen blinked. 

_ Wait a minute… _

“Wait, is that how you knew I was different? You looked at my...energy signature?” what did  _ her  _ energy signature look like? No, you didn’t see it, it didn’t have a  _ look  _ to it. You  _ felt  _ it. He could sense how  _ her  _ energy signature  _ felt  _ in comparison to others. 

_ My ‘life energy’.. _

He’d called it a signature. Meaning everyone’s was different.  _ Hers _ was different. Hers was unique. What did  _ her  _ life energy feel like to him? What did it tell him? What could he learn about  _ her _ ?

Eighteen was suddenly learning forward in her seat expectantly. She wanted to know his answer, it mattered to her now. This was something  _ entirely  _ new to her, and it was  _ exciting! _

“Well that’s just the thing hahaha, I couldn’t sense  _ anything  _ from you!” 

Eighteen’s gaze froze in an empty stare.

_ Nothing? He can’t sense anything from me? My power? My essence? My soul, is just...gone?  _

Eighteen was struggling to contain her seething rage. Her fingers tightened until her hands became angry fists, her knuckles were white from the tension.

_ That  _ ** _bastard_ ** _ Gero took that away from us  _ ** _too_ ** _ !? He took our humanity from us! He took our  _ lives away from us! And now I get to find out that I don’t even have my ** fucking soul anymore!**

“Uh...you okay?” 

Eighteen’s gaze shifted back to Gohan and immediately she realized what she’d been doing. Her gaze had been intense, her pupils dots in a sea of white as her shoulders had begun to tremble with an unsuppressable fury.

_ Relax Eighteen. There’s nothing you can do about it now.  _

She took a deep breath to clear her head.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Sorry.” She watched as the man raised an eyebrow to her response before shrugging and taking another sip of his drink. Eighteen was grateful he’d decided to leave it alone.

She needed to stop looking at this from an emotional standpoint,or at least, not right now. She needed an objective look on this. What it meant in the real world instead of just what it meant to her. That meant that Gohan could  _ not  _ sense her, he couldn’t figure out where she was or if she was hiding. She’d seen that earlier today when he’d looked straight at her and dismissed her because he’d searched out for her energy and found nothing.

_ At least  _ ** _that _ ** _ mystery is solved. _

She idly chimed to herself as she gathered her wits. She needed to get these negative emotions out of her head.

“Barkeep! Two more shots right here!” A few moments later the shots were before her. Without a second of delay the drinks were hitting the back of her throat, the bitter liquid forcing her to grimace as she took the second.

Feeling a little more tipsier than usual, Eighteen is ready to continue her questions.

“Alright, so, you said that the bigger the energy the stronger the person right?” 

Gohan nods, his eyebrow raised from the way she’d shot back both drinks.

“So does that mean your energy is waaaay bigger than everyone else in this room?”

Gohan tilted his head to the side, considering the statement. “Yeah, I guess you could put it like that.”

Eighteen’s face tightened her words suddenly more serious than before. 

She needed this to really  _ hit  _ hard. “So, if you can sense strong power energies…” She paused then, using the silence to form her sentence, the drinks making her mind foggy. “Then how strong is your energy in comparison to the energy the Androids have.”

She already knew the answer from his previous reveal. He couldn’t sense theirs. But the question did what she needed it to.

Gohan’s jovial smile fell as he adopted a darker expression, a more somber, almost defeated look. He let out a slow and calm sigh before he answered. “I can’t sense their energy. I have no idea how close I am to their strength.”

A frown rested on Eighteen’s lips now. The question had done exactly what she’d intended it to do. It both introduced the Androids into the conversation, and sobered him up. It told him that he would have to think past the booze from here on out if he wanted to answer these questions properly.

It was time to proceed.

“They’ve hurt a lot of people Gohan...I’ve seen it first hand. I’ve had things taken away from me, some of them made me more of a person than without them. I know the pain the Androids cause.” Her frown deepened. She wanted this to sound earnest, to sound honest. She wanted this to feel like it meant something, a means to draw out an equally earnest and honest response.

So she made it about her. She made it about the  _ truth. _

“They’ve killed, slaughtered, and torn apart millions. I’m more changed by the Androids creation than anyone in here. I’ve thought a lot about them, and I know that if I could ever get a hold of the person responsible for creating them I know I would tear him to pieces, I would do the same thing they do to the innocents of this world, that they’ve been doing for over a decade. I would become just like them in that moment. Anything to stop…” She paused, looking down at her lap. To him, it probably looked like she was just looking down, but in reality she was acknowledging herself as a whole. Her enhanced and changed limbs. Her core power system flooding her processors with energy to use at her leisure. Her modified mind to store data in a faster and more efficient mannerism so that she would never have trouble recalling an event or important memory.

Her chest, where the very essence of the person she’d been before had been stolen from her.

“Anything...to stop the Androids from becoming what they are. I would slaughter that person if i could, nothing would stop me. But then… I would be just like the Androids...wouldn’t I?” Eighteen was surprised she had to actually wipe away a tear from her eye. It had made her words convincing, this was all true for her, but she hadn’t actually thought she would get  _ emotional  _ over it. She’d thought about these things hundreds of times before. She was over it now.

_ Maybe those shots are starting to take effect… _

“But then again,” she continued, “It’s not like I actually have the strength to stop it, to kill, like they so brutally can. I’m sure that there’s hundreds, thousands of people who feel the same way I do, that would brutalized the Androids and their maker without a second thought, given the chance.”

_ Who wish they were as strong as I am or as my brother is. They all wish they could be me. That they could have the power I have. But I don't think for a second they would want if they knew what it  _ **took from me ** _ to become me. _

“They don’t have the power. They don’t have the strength to become the monsters that the Androids are.” It’d recently gotten a lot easier to use that term when regarding herself, she wondered why “...but you do…” She took a shaky breath inward. She definitely shouldn’t have gotten drunk before this. These emotions were not fake. “Why didn’t you become like them? You could have lived an easy life somewhere away, terrorizing a town helpless to stop you. You could have lived it easy, never having to face the androids...I guess what I’m asking is...why do you still choose to fight the Androids? Why aren’t you one of them?”

She hadn’t meant to give as much weight to the question as she had. The combined force of her drunken emotions followed by mixing it with her own genuine feelings had formed a powerful statement of which Eighteen had been shocked came from herself.

“I-...wow.” Gohan paused, staring wide eyed, shocked, amazed even, at her question.

Eighteen smiled. Right then in that moment, he wasn’t Blondie the man who’d been trying to kill her for all these years, he was an intelligent, handsome,  _ strong _ young man who was staring at her with such wonder, such amazement that he  _ had  _ to stare. He was looking at her like she was a work of art who he’d just stumbled upon by accident.

She could get used to someone looking at her like that…

Eighteen immediately snapped out of her trance. 

_ God damn it how much have I drunk!? _

At her feet were roughly ten differently sized empty glasses.

_ Oh Kami. _

“I guess...I never really looked at it like that…” He started his answer in a muttler, “I-uh-never really even thought of that as an option I guess. I just figured... _ this _ …” He made a motion with one arm towards the rest of himself, his scars, his chiseled, battle ready body, his years of dedication and pain, his  _ missing arm _ . “Was my only option. This was what I was always meant to do... I never thought to  _ question  _ it.”

Eighteen was staring at the man in shocked wonder now. He’d  _ never  _ stopped to give it some thought? That he could just live a life by himself, away from it all, safer than everyone else?

She watched the focused look on the man as he internally searched for an answer. She could tell that her emotions fueling her questions had worked  _ too  _ well on him.

“...I think...I went down this road...because I felt like I had too much to lose back then.” he finally acknowledged.

... _ what? _

“My mentor, my friends...they were all such amazing people...heros! Actually...They were what made me choose to become one myself. The desire, no,  _ need _ to protect them, my friends, my family, the people I  _ loved. _ For a long time...that was what drove me to fight. But then…” His face grew dark, she could see true pain, true  _ sorrow _ in his eyes.

“That went away....when the Androids killed...everyone. It got to the point that only a few of my loved ones were left. They became everything to me. I had to protect them. Because if I lost them… it would be like I lost everything that made me, me.”Eighteen watched, shocked, as he sniffled a bit of a runny nose “ I...I even struggled to make new friends, new loved ones because I didn’t know if I would be able to protect them if the Androids happened to attack. I closed myself off to the world because I couldn’t handle letting it down...again.”

Eighteen blinked. She’d never,  _ ever  _ thought of him like that. Blondie had always just been this goodie two shoes hero that occasionally got in their way from time to time. There’d been no depth to his character, no inner motive in her mind aside from “I’m good because I’m the good guy hurray!”. 

But as she sat before him, she realized her mistake. She and her brother  _ always  _ won. They drove Blondie back  _ hundreds  _ of times over the years. They’d nearly killed him  _ dozens  _ of times out of those exchanges. He’d  _ never  _ successfully  _ stopped  _ even one of their attacks.

Eighteen realized in that moment that she wasn’t looking at this city’s equivalent of a superman.

She was looking at a  _ loser _ . That hero that tries and  _ fails  _ to save the day.  _ That  _ had been the reason he’d been so surprised to find out he had a  _ fan _ , because who was a  _ fan  _ of the  _ hero-wannabe _ .

A monotone, clearly forced laugh rumbled out from Gohan. “Hahaha...I guess that got darker than I meant it to be, huh?” He said as he lifted a drink to his lips,shooting the entire thing back before motioning for another, “Do you want to move onto another question?”

The question was little more than a segway to move on in the conversation for Gohan, but for Eighteen it was a genuine question. Did she want to move onto her next question? It was  ** _the _ ** question, the only one that mattered, but it would drive home the fact that Gohan had never won  _ any  _ of his fights more than any blatant statement could say. It would destroy him mentally, and looking at this man who she could now  _ understand _ , she didn’t know if she wanted to-

** _What the actual fuck am I thinking right now? Am I actually being serious? This is the entire point of this conversation! Kami what the hell did I drink?_ **

She looked down at the cup she had been slowly bringing to her lips.

** _And why the hell am I still DRINKING IT?_ **

She quickly set the glass down onto the counter before parting her lips for the question.

_ No more dancing around it. I’ve made it here. It’s time to finally get my answer. _

“So,something I’ve wondered to myself from time to time is this... _ when  _ the Androids eventually kill everyone...what do you think they will do then? What will become of them do you think?”

_ When _ .

Not if.

_ When _ .

Even if she was ignoring how hard her message was to him, that didn’t mean she was oblivious of her statement as a whole. She caught the slightest wince in his eyes when he heard the end of her question. She could see him realizing it now. The implications of what she’d asked..

Even his fan, the only one he could accept actually was a fan of him, thought he was going to fail. 

“Well…” He mumbled, pausing to take a sip of his drink. It was clear that he didn’t want to meet her gaze, that he was hurt and trying to hide it. He took a long time to take this drink. Clearly registering the comment, feeling the hurt, and then trying to find an answer to the question.

His drink was empty when he set the glass down.

“I guess the only way to look at it is this. When all you know how to do is destroy, what do you do when  _ you  _ are all that’s left to destroy?”

Eighteen, froze.

_ His answer _ .

That was it. Simple, sweet, and with more weight than those short few words should be able to carry. It was everything that she needed to hear, to understand.

And it was  _ wrong. _

She hadn’t wanted  _ this _ , she’d wanted the  _ other  _ answer.

She hadn’t even thought of what she would do if he’d answered her question this way. She’d only considered him somehow finding a way to agree with her. The entire night he’d been showing her how he could question things past the black and white, that he could see her side of the argument…so why hadn’t he right then?

_ He had. _

She thought to herself in a stunned stupor.

_ He’d thought about it, black and white and grey. He’d considered it all, and  _ ** _that _ ** _ was his answer. _

She wanted things to go back to normal. That had been the plan,  _ this  _ had meant to be her resolution so that she could get back to the same old life that she’d loved and learned.

It was familiar, it was what was supposed to  _ be _ .

But this? This answer? 

It changed everything.

And Eighteen couldn’t begin to imagine what that would look like.

“I-I think I need to go.” She suddenly said, stumbling to her feet as she got to them. She felt dazed, like she’d just been punched really  _ really  _ hard, harder than she’d ever been hit in her life. She struggled to make her way towards the exit. It didn’t help that it appeared the alcohol in her system was actually having a serious affect.

“Hey, let me help you there.” Gohan said as he rose to his feet, offering a hand for her to support herself on.

“No...that’s fine! I’m...good. I’d rather go it alone..thanks.” It was hard for her to think straight. Her words, the message they contained, it all felt empty and  _ pointless _ . Why was she talking to him right now? Did she have to? Why did she have to? Why had she done this? It was all  _ wrong  _ now.

She watched as another hurt expression washed over his face before he averted his gaze downward.

“Alright.” He said trying to form a smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes. He was trying to appear as if he hadn’t been affected by their exchange, but he clearly had. “It was nice meeting you Videl.” 

She watched as the man turned his back and returned to his seat. For a moment she felt bad, the next she remembered the fact that her entire life had been just turned on its head and suddenly she didn’t give a  _ shit  _ about Gohan. She needed to get away, away from everyone. Away from everything that didn’t make sense right now, which was effectively  _ everything. _

_ ...damn it… _

She got to the exit and stepped out to the cool night air. She started to walk, she had enough sense about her to get away from any nearby people before taking flight. Her head was spinning,and she couldn’t tell if it was from the drinks or from the life changing information she’d just recieved.

_ But in the end it’s still  _ ** _my choice _ ** _ if I want to let his words impact  _ ** _my life_ ** _ . I’m still in the driver’s seat. That hasn’t changed. _

Despite this thought, as she walked down the dimly lit road, her eyes glued to the spot just in front of where her feet were stepping one after another, she realized she felt like she was less in control of her life than she had ever been. She felt like a child who’d just been told that Santa wasn’t real. She felt like the kid in school who had decided to be an astronaut when he was five, only to find out at ten how unlikely it would be that he would reach that goal.

... _ Shit… _

Her mind felt like it was rattling within her skull, humming with the knowledge she’d just received. How could she have blocked out something so obvious? Something that made such clear sense that it was almost dumb how simple it was? She’d missed it, completely, totally, somehow, despite being at this game for over a decade, she’d missed it all.

‘When all you know how to do is destroy, what do you do when  _ you  _ are all that’s left to destroy?’

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide as slow tears began to roll down her cheeks.

It didn’t feel real.

It felt like she was drifting, her feet felt like they were standing on nothing as her body went numb.

_ If I follow down this path… the one that I’ve been following for all this time...I’m going to kill my baby brother...or he’s going to kill me. _

She’d thought it before. But at the time it’d only been her  _ considering  _ the thought. It was purely a concept, just a theory that had yet to be proven. But now, it was  _ real _ . It felt more  _ real  _ than anything she’d ever felt before. Her brother, Seventeen, he was her  _ everything _ . If  _ anything  _ happened to him...she couldn’t even begin to imagine what she would do.

She’d do anything to save her brother. Whatever it took to keep him around, to keep him at her side. 

_ But does that mean I...need...to stop? _

She hadn’t fully connected everything yet. Connected the fact that her killing the weak, pathetic, and the  _ vile  _ was eventually going to lead to the destruction of her brother. It had been a slow click of understanding. It was like the slow turn around in a horror movie, the realization that the monster was right there behind you as you crane your neck to look at him.

Her realization was the monster she was looking at now. 

Eighteen’s eyes widened as she could hear the gentle sound of footsteps coming up from behind her. Her head looked over her shoulder to find three men stumbling as they slowly approached her. Studying these men Eighteen realized that she recognized them. 

They had been at the bar.

They had followed her out.

She suddenly felt scared, nervous even before returning to her senses. 

_ I am Android Eighteen and three  _ ** _measly boys _ ** _ are nothing to me. _

She turned on her heel, facing the approaching group with a snarl. Her cheeks were wet with the dampness of her tears. Her eyes slowly scanned their immediate surroundings, checking to see if there was anyone nearby to  _ see _ .

There wasn’t.

“Hey pretty lady, we saw you got pretty wasted over there at the bar, we thought it would be dangerous if you walked home alone tonight, So we thought we should be gentlemen and walk ya home instead.” His words slurred, his face red from booze.

Eighteen’s frown deepened. 

“Don’t worry honey, we’re not bad guys,” A different man spoke, he approached Eighteen casually, smiling in what she figured he thought was an attractive manner.

It wasn’t.

He placed an arm around her shoulders. “Tell ya what, I know it might be a long way to where-ever you live, but my flat is just around the corner, what do ya say if we turn in there for the night, and then we all just say goodbye in the morning when it’s daylight and safe to walk home. Whadaya say?”

She watched as the other men nodded their heads in agreement. She could see where this would go with another girl. They’d bully her into agreeing and wait patiently to bring her back to their place before they would overpower her or bully her into letting them take advantage of her until their yeses drowned out her no’s. Then she would be too foggy on the nights events to recall what had even happened.

_ Yeah,  _ ** _fuck that_ ** .

She thought before grabbing the arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulling  ** _hard_ ** .

The man immediately flipped over her shoulder before slamming back first into the hard pavement. She could hear the sharp intake of air as she used a small fraction of her true strength to  _ really  _ swing him down. She guessed that his shoulder was dislocated from the force. His eyes clasped shut as he struggled to take in air.

She turned on the two still started men before driving into the first, leading with an elbow that buried itself into his gut in an unnatural way. Almost immediately, the man keeled over clutching his abdomen tightly before a brown stream of vomit ejected from his mouth. He fell to his side a moment later, unconscious.

Eighteen stepped around the vomiting man as she set her eyes on the final musketeer of this terrible trio. He was trembling as he began to slowly take steps backwards.

Internally Eighteen was almost grateful that these  _ pigs  _ had decided to follow her out. She’d needed something else to think about other than the dizzying realization that one day  _ she  _ might be the one to  _ murder  _ her little brother.

Eighteen shoved the heel of her foot into the man’s knee. The joint yielded immediately as it bent inward in a painful fashion. She watched with a deep rooted hatred as he fell over, clutching his now broken leg as he began to scream out in pain.

“Shut it!” she shouted before slamming the heel of her boot against the side of his face. The force was enough for him to go still.

She paused then, the groaning shapes of these three men withering on the ground in pain. She wanted to kill them. To  _ end  _ them for trying to do something so  _ horrible  _ to her. She wanted to see their blood spill down the street as it searched for a storm drain.

She raised a hand, allowing her palm to fill with violent, rippling golden energy before turning it towards the man at her feet, the one with the broken leg. She could see his face, contorted into a tight pain stricken grimace.

_ Scum like you don’t deserve to li- _

Her eyes widened.

Suddenly, it wasn’t some random drunk laying crumpled on the ground.

It was Seventeen, her brother, cowering at her feet, beaten, broken, on the brink of collapse, looking up at her with a plea of mercy in his eyes.

Eighteen’s face went white. 

She wanted to blow this man away as she’d done with countless others. She wanted to forget that  ** _bastard _ ** Blondie’s advice and return to the way things were. She was half tempted to level this city right now, destroy it all just to prove a point. 

_ I could probably do it now too. Blondie is way too drunk to stop me. _

Her eyes widened as she realized that Blondie was  _ vulnerable _ . If she really wanted to, she could go back to that damn bar and have a decent chance at annihilating him. She was certain he’d drunk several times more than herself. That and he thought she was a  _ fan _ . She’d be able to get right up next to him with his guard down, level a hand with his head and blow him away. It would be retribution for her previous failure. She could go back to her normal life and forget this night had ever happened.

Her hand was still held in front of the man on the ground groaning over his broken leg. The energy dissipated.

_ I...I  _ ** _can't._ **

She wanted to  _ destroy  _ just like her old self had once done. It felt right, comfortable, familiar, and yet...she felt a  _ different  _ want, a  _ stronger  _ want. 

She wanted to save her baby brother.

He was her everything, her world, without him, nothing made sense anymore. 

If she had to choose between her old life, and the life of her brother, she’d pick her brother,  ** _every time_ ** .

She stared down at the man as his eyes slowly relaxed from his grimace, opening slowly as he spat. “You dumb bitch! You broke my damn leg you-”

A swift kick was enough for his head to snap back, his body relaxed as he went unconscious again.

She stood in the center of the three unconscious men. The desire to kill them was stronger than it had ever been. She  _ hated  _ each and every one of them, but she didn’t know if she’d be able to  _ stop  _ once she got started. If she rationalized killing these people...would she do it again? Would she rationalize it until she was eventually back to her old ways, back to slaughtering people with Seventeen by her side until there was nothing left to slaughter?

What then?

_You’re thinking way too much about this Eighteen. Why would you listen to Blondie anyway? Why did you go through with this plan in the first place? This was so stupid. Just kill these idiots and go home already!__  
_ She wanted to listen to herself.

But she couldn’t.

She wanted to kill these men.

But she couldn’t.

She wanted to make sense of all this, to know what she should do. This was supposed to be her answer. This was supposed to be what helped her decide that she could return to evil.

But she couldn’t.

Eighteen stared down at the unconscious figures, waiting for another revelation, waiting for something more to convince her to return to her old ways.

She found nothing.

  
  
  
  
  


_   
_ _   
_ __   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not gonna lie. This chapter took it out of me. If it’s not blatantly obvious, this was a pretty critical chapter for the rest of the story. I did my best to make it as good and clean as I could. The outline alone was 16 pages of planned out scenes and how I needed the conversations to go in order to move onto the next scene. There were several scenes that got cut out because I felt like they took away from the flow of the story. There was initially going to be an ending scene where Gohan realizes that he let ‘Videl’ go alone at night, but it felt out of place and sorta an empty scene since all he does is chase after for a moment and find the guys she beat up.  
Also, I imagine that what I plan to do here is becoming pretty obvious for some of you reading. I wasn’t exactly subtle about it lol.  
And as always, please drop a review if you enjoyed the chapter or even if you didn’t! Reviews are genuinely what keep me going as a writer. Seeing people appreciate or at the very least acknowledge what has been one of the largest chapters I’ve written in awhile feels good and makes me want to get to the next chapter even sooner. Plus I always respond to my reviews! So if you want to pick my mind on something, you have free reins lol.
> 
> PS: As I image there will be those of you who think whole heartedly that it’s stupid Android Eighteen was able to get drunk when actually it’s been shown in the series that she can absolutely get drunk if she tries.   
I mean, she fell for Krillin didn’t she? You telling me that he didn’t have a little help from ye old confidence elixir to make that happen?  
Jokes aside there is definitive proof that Eighteen can canonically get drunk. Eighteen had marron, which means that she can get pregnant and had a pregnancy period, now, anyone that knows anything about pregnancy knows that Mom’s get the munchies bad since they’re eating for two. This means that Eighteen would have to be able to digest and process food and drink in order for Marron to have slowly developed from an embryo into a proper baby, Eighteen can't make nutrients from herself lol. She needs food to do that.  
Another question I see coming up that I should probably address now, ‘why have the conversation happen at a bar?’ Well, I felt that it would be the most reasonable method to have Gohan be so easily fooled by Eighteen’s disguise despite her showing signs of it here and there. That and I felt like it would be reasonable for his character to search out this location considering the mental change Gohan is currently undergoing. He wants to change up his routine, break the habit enough that he can finally overcome the Androids. Hopefully this reasoning is enough for those of you who didn’t like the alcohol theme.  
That’s about all I have to say in regards to this chapter. I’m sure something else will come to mind when I start getting reviews and I’ll go back to edit this AN again lol, but until that or the next chapter, I see you all next time!


	6. The First step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the aftermath of Trunks's defeat, Gohan and the teen engage in a friendly sparring session before exploring their thoughts on the Androids, and what they think the future holds for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ATTENTION:  
So I have something of a confession to make, I sorta forgot that I started this story here. I initially posted this story here as a sort of 'backup' due to my story being threatened by a hostile group on Fanfiction. net, where I began the project originally. (They used the cite's report system to report spam any story that didn't follow their restrictive criteria, and I saw that several of the stories they'd targeted had been legitimately banned)
> 
> Once that fiasco blew over, I sorta forgot to post the story here for awhile, leaving it dead for I'm seeing quite some time.  
Well that ends now!  
I've progressed with the story more than double in length! and for the each of the following days until we catch up to where the story is currently I will post a new chapter for the readers on this cite to enjoy! (if I forget one of the days just message me and I'll be sure to get it up)
> 
> Thank you for your patience and enjoy the rest of the story thus far!

- _ One day later- _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

_ -Gohan- _

The desert, dry and vacant of all life forms except for the few creatures stubborn enough to defy its inhospitable environment, stretched on for miles and miles. There was little sand, in its place were massive stones and hard packed dirt with a layer of dust that could transform into a small dust vortex if enough wind hit it just right. No one lived here across this vast expanse, no one explored this area because there was no reason to. However, if you chose to ignore reason and venture forward through this area of nothingness, and happen to be doing so at the right time of day when the sun is highest in the sky, you may start to hear noises after a few miles. It would be subtle, tiny noises at first, maybe the sound of something hitting the ground hard somewhere far off or the distant sound of an explosion from time to time. If you continued towards these noises for a few miles longer, you may actually start to  _ see  _ something, bright flashes of light, and two figures floating in the air as if gravity has chosen to ignore them, all the while attacking each other with such ferocity that you would be certain they were trying to kill each other. 

But rest assured, they are not.

Gohan pulled his head back as he narrowly escaped a fist meant for this nose. Next a roundhouse kick threatened to connect with his ribcage. Shifting his arm across his chest he just barely managed to stop the attack before grabbing the leg and with a grunt throwing his opponent, Trunks, to the ground. A mound of dust erupted from the impact, shrouding the boy in a small pocket of brown.

Gohan’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the Saiyan child push himself to his feet before turning his head to look at the dust all around him. The one armed Saiyan watched as a mischievous grin spread from the teen’s lips before he collected a small ball of energy in his hand and threw it at his feet.

The result was immediate, an enormous cloud of dust and debris shot into the air filling the sky with a thick wave of coffee-colored  _ camouflage _ for the boy to escape into. _ _

Gohan narrowed his eyes attempting to pierce the cloud but to no avail. 

He smiled.

It had been a smart strategy, and one that he’d employed against the Androids many a time. Take away an opponent’s vision in a risky attempt to gain the upper hand. The only flaw being that if the opponent stayed in the cloud like Gohan was doing instead of shooting out of it the moment it went up, then  _ you  _ were effectively blind as well.

Gohan frowned as he noticed something. He waited a few seconds as he slowly raised his hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose in an annoyed gesture.

He suddenly dropped a few inches lower as a fist shot out of the cloud just behind him. Gohan let the fist fly harmlessly over his shoulder before grabbing the arm attached with his own and flipping Trunks over his shoulder in an effective throw straight into the ground.

This time Gohan had put a little  _ extra  _ oomph into it, evident from the sharp gasp of air Trunks had needed after having the wind knocked out of him.

He watched as Trunks groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position as he rubbed the part of his back that had made the most impact with the ground. His face was a combination of annoyance and pain as Gohan slowly touched down next to him, a frown resting on his face. The elder Saiyan opened his mouth to speak but coughed for a moment as the cloud of dust collected on his tongue. He growled before centering his energy into the pit of his stomach and thrusting out with his hand, letting the energy explode from him. The dust immediately cleared as his energy forced it back. The force was not strong enough to harm Trunks however, as his hair merely blew back for a few seconds.

Gohan looked back to the boy now, a frown on his lips.

“Now, what did we forget Trunks?” He asked in the tone a teacher would use to address a student.

Trunks frowned, scratching the back of his head like he’d seen his mentor do so many times before. “Um...I wasn’t quiet enough?”

The elder Saiyan rolled his eyes, “You didn’t conceal your power when you were approaching me. I knew exactly where you were the entire time.”

Trunks blinked once before his lips formed an O shape.

Despite wanting to appear displeased with the teen, he couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction. It was funny to watch someone so young learn what was so obvious to himself.

Trunks picked himself up, brushing off a bit of dust that had collected on his pants. “So that’s how you did that. I was super confused for a second there.” The teen frowned, “And I was so sure I had you that time…”

Gohan patted the boys back. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that one day you’ll be out performing me left and right.” a devious grin split his face, “But until that day I’m gonna have fun beating you up!” Gohan playfully chopped the boys head.

Trunks rolled his eyes as he pushed the hand away, then he frowned. “Wait a second,”

“Hm?”

“Why should I focus on concealing my energy when I go for an ambush like that? If we’re training to beat the Androids...then wouldn’t it be a useless skill?”

Gohan paused, it was a good question. What use would concealing your energy be good for if the enemy couldn’t sense it in the first place?

Gohan stood still, his hand cupping his chin for a matter of moments before finding his response. “Before the Androids, there was Frieza, before Frieza, there was... the Saiyans.”  
Gohan had fumbled with his sentence, he’d been planning to say ‘Vegeta’ but the negative implications didn’t feel right to say in front of his son. “What I’m trying to get at is there’s always been another threat. What if-”

“Wait-” The younger Saiyan interjected, his expression filled with worry. “You think that... _ when  _ we eventually beat the Androids, there’s gonna be another threat to the world?”

Gohan wore an easy smile as he listened

He said  _ when _ .

Not if.

_ When. _

It felt good to know that Trunks still believed in him, no,  _ them _ .

_ We’re a little team aren’t we? _

Gohan placed a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Relax. I’m not saying there will be for certain. But part of the reason everyone lost to the Androids when they initially appeared was  _ because  _ we weren’t ready. After Frieza, we all sorta lived our separate lives for a while. We’d all risked our lives  _ enough  _ in those short few months, some of us were done with fighting entirely. Yamcha started to pursue a career with baseball, Krillin started looking for jobs that didn’t revolve around combat since he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to get any prize money from tournaments with my and your dad around.”

The two shared a laugh.

Gohan scratched the back of his head as he continued to remember, before continuing. “What I’m trying to say is, we got lax, we got comfortable. Some of us still trained from time to time, I still went out with my dad on occasion to do some light sparring, but that was it, light sparring, and mom only allowed it because she thought it was good exercise. Aside from my dad and yours, no one was really pushing themselves to achieve more, we were just doing enough to keep our power levels from dropping is all.”

Gohan sighed.

“Then dad died and...well, everyone’s spirits were sorta low after that.” Gohan reflected on the time he’d spent with his dad leading up to his ailment. He’d been young during the events with Frieza, definitely far too young to have been apart of such a life threatening, world ending situation. He’d only been five when they’d finally returned to Earth  _ alive, much  _ to their surprise. There’d been so many times he’d nearly died during that time of his life, so many instances where, at five years old, he’d had to contemplate his own mortality. 

It’d only been after the fact that he realized those moments had taken their toll. He’d wake up in cold sweats,  _ dreaming  _ of Frieza and what could have happened had things gone only slightly different on Namek. He’d suddenly panic, convinced that he felt Frieza’s energy again somewhere off in the distance, convinced that  _ someone  _ or  _ something  _ was coming for the planet again. 

And, much to his surprise, Goku had stepped up, Goku had managed to put that fear to rest. 

- _ Sixteen Years Earlier, Son Goku Residence- _

Gohan was quietly sitting on the couch in some comfortable overalls and a T-shirt. His eyes were looking down at the book his mom had assigned him but was not reading the words. He’d wanted to read it, he wanted to listen like a good son should, but he was too busy trying to push the scary thoughts out of his mind. He’d wrapped himself up in a blanket at first, believing that the tremble plaguing his body had been a result of a cold breeze. Well, now he was sweating and still shivering.

Mom was in the kitchen cooking dinner. He’d thought about going to her for help, but she was busy and he didn’t want to get in the way of dinner time. He was a Saiyan after all, or at least, half of one. Meal times were sacred in this household, and not something that you got in the way of. 

So Gohan sat quietly on the couch, doing his best to be docile, trying his best to do the assignment his mom had given him. Gohan felt bad that he wasn’t able to focus on it, he didn’t want his mom to be mad at him for not completing his homework. He redoubled his efforts to read the book, to focus his mind on something other than the memories he was currently thinking about. 

He failed.

Gohan’s head suddenly jerked upward, his pupils black dots within seas of white. He could feel it, sense it again way up there, somewhere past the ceiling and sky, past the atmosphere and into the stars.

** _Frieza_ **

He could sense his power again. He could sense it still out there, alive, waiting to come back and-

“Hiya son!” 

Gohan jumped so high his head bumped the ceiling.

Rubbing the top of his head, Gohan turned and saw his father, Goku, suddenly standing there in the living room in his orange fighting Gi. Despite knowing that he could do it, it didn’t make it any less startling that his dad could just pop into existence right next to him at any given moment.

“Hi dad. Dinner’s almost done I think, how did training go?” Gohan smiled. He liked when his dad was around and not outside training like he so often did. He noticed his shaking had stopped too!

He watched as his father turned his head left and then right, looking at their surroundings as if confused. “Is everything alright?” He asked seemingly having not heard his son’s question.

“Uh, yeah dad. Everything is alright I think…?” 

“Huh,” Goku frowned, looking down at Gohan with a puzzled expression. 

“Is something wrong?” Now Gohan was looking around at their living room,  _ was  _ there something weird he should be noticing?

“Well, I thought so at first.” Goku rubbed the back of his neck still wearing a puzzled frown. “I felt your energy getting all,” He made a scrambled motion with his hands. “Weird-n-stuff, so I thought I should get back.”

Gohan frowned.

_ Weird? My energy was weird? What does dad mean by- _

The boy paused in his thoughts. He hadn’t realized it, but his energy signature was  _ spiking  _ at that moment. He’d accidentally powered up to his absolute max without even realizing it.

“Oh, sorry.” He finally said as he forced his power back to it’s normal, comfortable level. “I was um, worried about something. I guess I must have powered up without noticing haha…”

He watched his father tilt his head in response. “Worried? Worried about what son?”

“Oh, um, well…” Gohan paused. Should he tell him that he’d felt Frieza again? The last time he’d felt him he’d rushed to tell everyone, only for everyone to tell him that they couldn’t feel anything. He’d felt silly because of it. He was ‘the boy who cried wolf’. He didn’t want to be the boy who cried wolf.

But, he also didn’t want to lie to his dad either. He was a good boy, he liked telling the truth.

“I...I was worrying about Frieza again.” Gohan looked down ashamed. He didn’t like that he had these scary thoughts. He couldn’t help it. He wanted them to go away.

Goku laughed, a bright smile on his face. “But Frieza’s gone silly, why would you be worrying about him?”

Gohan could only shrug unwilling to meet his dad’s gaze. Of course Frieza was gone. Gohan knew that, he’d seen his dad beat him,  _ twice _ , once on Namek, and again when Frieza had tried to come to Earth. He didn’t know why he was still thinking about him even after all this time. Gohan frowned, he  _ was  _ being silly.

The young boy blinked in surprise as Goku lowered himself to a crouch so that he was eye level with his son. He wasn’t smiling however in his typical fashion, he had a serious look on his face, one that told Gohan that he was listening.

“Gohan, what’s wrong? What’s got your mind on Frieza?”

“I-um.” The six year old wasn’t sure why he was still thinking about Frieza. He didn’t  _ want  _ to be scared thinking about Frieza, imagining his power still alive somewhere out in the cozmos. “I don’t know dad.”

“Hmmm.” Goku tightened his lips as he studied his son. “Oh! I’ve got an idea!” Without explanation Goku’s hand reached out and laid flat on his son’s head. Gohan didn’t mind. It felt like when his dad ruffled his hair after he’d done a good job on something. It was a good feeling.

He watched his dad close his eyes and suddenly concentrate. Abruptly Gohan felt like his mind was a VHS tape being rewound and then played in fast forward, like his dad was somehow...looking through his memories?

_ Dad can do that? _

He remembered his dad doing something similar with Krillin back on Namek but… _ how  _ could he do that?

Before he could think more on the matter, Goku was pulling back his hand, his eyes opening again.

Gohan looked at him expectantly, what had he’d seen?

_ Why is dad looking at me like that? _

It looked like Goku was...concerned? What about? About him? But why? “You’re not worried Gohan...you’re  _ scared _ .” he frowned.

The child paused, not sure how to respond, before slowly nodding. “I guess so.” 

“You feel like Frieza is still out there somewhere. You think you sense his energy sometimes.”

Gohan’s gaze trailed downward, he nodded.

“You know Frieza’s gone for good right? He’s not coming back.”

“I know. I don’t know why I get scared sometimes. It just happens and I can’t help it.”

“Hmmm…” Goku brought a hand to cup his chin in thought. “I wonder why you’re still scared of Frieza even though he’s gone…”

Gohan shrugged.

Suddenly a bright smile spread across Goku’s cheeks again. “Oh! I know!” He looked over his shoulder towards the Kitchen where Chichi was still cooking. Cupping a hand over his mouth he called out. “I’m taking Gohan out for a little bit! We’ll be back before dinner’s done!”

“Did Gohan finish his homework?” hollered back Gohan’s mother.

Goku looked back to his son expectantly.

The younger Saiyan slowly shook his head no.

Goku frowned, before a devious grin spread from his lips. “Yeah! He just finished! I’ll bring it to you!” Goku motioned for his son to hand him the book.

Gohan frowned. He hadn’t read it or done any of the notes, what was his dad doing?

Whispering, Goku leaned in overly dramatically, as if he was a spy trying to stay undercover. “C’mon Gohan give it to me, I can take care of this.”

Gohan couldn’t help but giggle at his dad being so silly. Goku smiled as his son gave him the book and small folder with the work papers in them. Making sure his son was watching, he goofily began to walk towards the kitchen when he abruptly stumbled, the book and folder bouncing around in his hands as he fell forward and  _ accidentally  _ threw it out of the open window on the other side of the room.

Gohan’s eyes bulged as he ran over to the window. He couldn’t even see it out there. His dad had thrown it  _ far _ .

“Oops! I accidently threw it out the window!” Goku grinned at his son who was slowly starting to smile back. Gohan realized what his dad was doing now. Goku raised a single finger to his lips. Gohan understood.

“ **What!?** ”

Suddenly their smiles dropped.

Chichi’s voice exploded from the kitchen, the two Saiyans could hear her feet pounding towards them as she roared. “ **Do you know how expensive that book was? Where did you throw it? Did you even stop to consider-** ”

Goku’s face went pale with terror before he reached out and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. His voice tripped over itself as he said “MeandGohanaregonnagofinditBye!”

Just as Gohan saw his mom round the corner into the living room, he noticed his father put two fingers to his forehead and suddenly they were outside in the forest surrounding their home. Gohan could feel the cool night air caressing his face, gently drying the sweat he’d been accumulating back in the blanket.

“Phew, that was a close one.” Goku wiped sweat from his forehead before looking around. “Yeah, this spot should work.”

Gohan looked around. This spot didn’t look particularly special.

“It should?” he asked.

Goku smiled as he sat down indian style, indicating for his son to do the same.

Now sitting across from his father, Gohan asked. “So...what are we doing here dad?”  
With a serious gaze, Goku stared into his son’s eyes. “I want you to think about Frieza right now. Think about his power, how strong he was, how scary he was. I want you to really picture him, pretend he’s here now, standing a few feet away.”

Gohan paused, his eyes wide at what his dad had just told him. “But...I don’t think I want to dad.”

Goku grinned, “Just trust me son...here,” he stretched out a hand, “I can hold your hand while you do it.”

Gohan hesitated a moment longer before slowly stretching out his own arm and accepting his father’s hand in his. He didn’t know what his dad was doing, but he trusted him.  
The boy closed his eyes as he started to picture the tyrant in his mind, shaping how the monster had looked like, his stance, the way he spoke and the way he moved. Gohan pictured his evil, demented laughter, the way he treated all of his friends, the way he hurt his dad back on Namek.

And then, he pretended that he could feel his  _ power _ .

Immediately, Gohan’s body began to tremble. His grip tightened around his father’s hand as he felt beads of sweat begin to build up on his brow and face. He felt like he was there again, on Namek, fighting for his life with Krillen and Vegeta against a force that seemed like it was just getting stronger and stronger with each clash of blows. He could picture them now, the first form, the first face Gohan remembered Frieza wearing. Even then his power had been overwhelming, so much so that it’d been a surprise that Vegeta had managed to resist him for as long as he did. Then, he transformed into his second form, a massive, dangerous creature with horns he’d seen  _ impale  _ Krillin. His power had become so much so that Gohan had been certain that he was going to die. He remembered wishing he’d never gone along to Namek in that moment, wishing that he was back home with his mom and dad doing boring homework.

Then Piccolo came, and Gohan had felt a glimmer of hope.

Which was dashed away the moment the monster had transformed for the third time. At that point, even Piccolo had proven no match for the tyrant. Gohan had felt foolish for getting his hopes up before.

And finally, Frieza’s final form, the form that Gohan had learned to be Frieza’s  _ true  _ face. It wasn’t so much the form itself that terrified Gohan, in fact the previous forms had been far more terrifying in physical appearance, it was what he could  _ do  _ in that form that truly made Gohan tremble in fear. He had the power to slaughter an entire race, the power to beat Vegeta  _ brutally _ , a man Gohan had previously feared before, and soon enough Gohan had found out that he possessed the power to  _ destroy planets  _ if he so chose.

He could picture him now, standing just next to him pointing a single, white finger down on him, knowing that was all it would take to wipe him and his planet from existence.

“You’re thinking of him now? Frieza?”

Gohan nodded, his body trembling from fright, from knowing that he could do  _ nothing  _ against this massive amount of power. The boy’s grip tightened around his father’s hand.

“You can feel his power now right? You remember how strong he was?”

Another nod.

“Alright, I want you to really remember it, how big it was, how strong and terrifying it was.”

Gohan didn’t need to be told that. He was already on top of it.

“Now I want you to stand up.”

Gohan’s eyes opened as he noticed his dad rise to a standing position, still holding his hand as he helped the boy to his feet.

“Do you feel him like he’s really here?”

Gohan frowned. He did, he didn’t like it, but he did. It felt like he was right next to him. 

He nodded.

“Good.” was all his father said before pulling the boy to him and wrapping him up into a tight embrace. “Now, I want you to focus on  _ my  _ power.”

Gohan blinked as suddenly, he was being bathed in golden flames. Goku’s hair was standing on end, gold due to transforming into his Super Saiyan state. Gohan could feel the power radiating from his father, it was incredible, stronger than anything Gohan had felt before.

And it was  _ climbing _ .

Gohan’s eyes widened in amazement as his dad’s power continued to skyrocket to the point that it was unfathomable how strong he was. It would have been terrifying had it been anyone else, but standing there wrapped in his father’s arms, knowing that this power wasn’t going to do any harm to him or the people he loved. It was comforting to be around it, to be overwhelmed by it. Gohan nuzzled deeper into the hug.

“Now, I want you to think back to Frieza’s power. How does it seem to you now?”

Gohan’s eyes snapped back open. He’d nearly completely forgotten about Frieza and his power. Compared to his dad it almost felt...weak? It was odd to think of  _ Frieza _ , the previous ruler of the  _ universe  _ as weak, but feeling his dad’s Ki...it was undeniable. The two were hardly comparable anymore, it was as if his dad was in an entirely different league than that of what Frieza had shown. 

“It seems...small.” The boy answered.

Goku smiled. “That’s right. Frieza is  _ waaaaay  _ weaker than me. If Frieza were to ever come back ever, then your pops would beat him up again just like the first couple of times.”

Gohan smiled, and then frowned. 

“But what if you’re not there dad? What if Frieza comes back again and you’re not there to stop him this time?”

Goku let out a laugh. “Gohan, if you were to  _ try  _ to get away from me right now. Flying as fast as you can. Do you think you could do it?”

Gohan thought about it. 

_ No way _ .

There wasn’t a chance that he could hope to outfly his father.

“And don’t forget about this nifty little skill!” Goku said as he raised two fingers to his forehead.

Suddenly, the two of them were across the world, standing on the small beach of Kami house. Then, a moment later they were in West City floating above all the people down below, then, they were back in the forest where they’d begun their journey. 

“Whoa.” Gohan’s eyes were wide, realizing what his dad was saying.

“Son,” Goku began, lowering himself so that he was at eye level with Gohan. “I’m here now. I plan to protect you, and your mom, and the Earth from whatever tries to hurt it with all the power I have to spend. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you and your mom safe. You don’t need to worry about Frieza or anyone like Frieza who might be out there, because you’re big bad pops will take them down no matter where you are.”

Gohan smiled at that, Goku smiled back.

“No matter where you are, no matter what you might be afraid of, I’ll deal with it. I can sense you from across the Earth and can be there a second later if I need to be. If you just flare your energy just like you did back at the house, I’ll be there.”

Gohan looked at the golden flames flickering off of his father, illuminating his confident and reassuring smile. They were warm, and they were comforting and they made him feel safe. Gohan tried to picture something,  _ anything  _ being stronger than his dad was.

He couldn’t, he couldn’t picture anything being as strong as his dad was in that moment.

Gohan was never scared of Frieza again.

- _ Sixteen Years Later, Gohan _ -

_ How times change. _

He thought to himself as he let the memory fade to the back of his mind. He’d enjoyed the years he’d had with his father before his eventual death. He hadn’t known his dad very well before the events regarding Frieza, a four year old rarely was able to form a complex opinion about the people in their lives.However, in those few years of peace he’d truly learned to respect the man Goku had been. He’d been an...unconventional dad, but he’d been a good dad all the same.

Gohan blinked, realizing he’d spaced out in the middle of his conversation with Trunks. 

_ Weird, I don’t usually do that when other people are around. _

“Sorry,” Gohan frowned shaking his head, “What did you say?”

“I said: everyone lost their drive to train after Goku had died?”

“Oh, right.” Gohan pushed the palm of his hand to his forehead as he quickly began to remember their conversation. “Yeah, after my dad’s death, everyone else just sorta stopped for awhile for one reason or another. We’d started to get together again for small sparring sessions after a little while...but then the Androids appeared and well.” he frowned, “You know the rest.”

Trunks nodded thoughtfully, “I see. You know, the way you talk about your dad, Mr. Piccolo, and the rest of the ‘gang’, well I wish I could have met them. I wish they could have...I dunno...prepared somehow before the Androids showed up.”

Gohan smirked, “Like they were warned beforehand or something?”

Trunks smiled, “Yeah! I bet it would have gone a lot differently if someone or something had told them a little while ahead of time.”

The elder Saiyan let out a slow chuckle. “No one can tell the future Trunks as much as I wish someone could.”

“But do you think things would be different if they’d been warned? Like, given enough time to train and prepare and all that?”

Gohan paused considering the thought. If his friends had somehow been told beforehand about the Androids… “It’s possible that they might have been able to better prepare. “At the very least you and I wouldn’t be the last fighters around if they’d been warned. That much I feel like I can say for sure.”

The teen’s head turned away, his gaze studying the horizon. There was nothing to see for miles and miles, just dirt and rocks, perfect for training but not good for much else. Gohan gathered that the boy was looking past that, envisioning what lies beyond.

“Sometimes… sometimes I wish I could send a message back y’know? Tell them that…  _ this  _ is what is going to happen to the world if they don’t get ready quickly.” The boy’s gaze lowered slightly. “Maybe things would be different now.”

Gohan’s lips tightened into a thin line. He could relate to Trunks in that moment, he could  _ deeply  _ relate to that feeling. When he’d been younger, all he could think of was how things could have gone differently then how they had. It’d been a way for the boy to escape, to close his eyes and think of how life would be  _ without  _ the Androids. He pictured his father there, somehow having beaten the virus that had plagued his heart before. He pictured Mr. Piccolo there, teaching him weird and new techniques like he’d used to. He pictured Krillen and Yamcha and everyone else, all the faces he now missed.

But they were gone now. No dragon balls, no coming back. He quickly realized that searching into the past to fix their problems wasn't going to get him anywhere. It helped him to look forward and accept what had come to pass so that he could try to change it for the future.

“There’s no going back Trunks.” He reached out and rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I want to have them back just as much as you do Trunks. But turning back the clock obviously isn’t an option. That’s why it’s so important to protect what’s left, to preserve what remains even after everything we’ve gone through.” Gohan paused as he took a deep breath in. This next part was going to sting. 

Before he could continue Trunks interrupted “Yeah, I know time travel isn’t a thing haha, I mean, if it was, why would things still be like this?” The boy stretched out his arms. “So, wanna get back to it? I’m not tired yet, maybe I’ll get you back for slamming me into the ground so hard.” The boy raised his fists in a boxers pose with a cheeky smile.

Gohan tried to hide his frown. “Um, maybe in a little bit. I actually might want to take a break out of this hot sun. Didn’t get too much sleep last night.”

Gohan turned his back to the boy as he slowly lifted into the air. He caught Trunks raising a curious eyebrow his direction but eventually shrugged and took to the air as well.

The elder Saiyan chewed on his lip as he flew slightly ahead of the boy. Gohan had been struggling with how he should tackle this next part. Bulma had called him in the morning before he’d come to pick up Trunks for their usual training time. She’d told him about the fight Trunks had been in against the Androids, how the News had reported on an attack on a building the teen had been later recovered in. She described the condition he’d came back in, and the mental image he’d formed from her description had been enough to make the man wince. 

The first thing he’d felt had been sympathy for the young man for having to go through such a dangerous experience, then it had been frustration at him for going alone in the first place, and then finally his emotions arrived at where they were now,  _ confusion _ .

** _Why _ ** _ did he go in the first place? He couldn’t have thought that he was even remotely strong enough to face them on his own if he can’t even beat  _ ** _me _ ** _ yet. It’s not like he would have been forced to fight, it wasn’t even close to their home.  _ ** _He _ ** _ sought  _ ** _them _ ** _ out for one reason or another. _

Gohan stole a brief glance over his shoulder at Trunks. The boy was looking down at the landscape they were flying over with a curious gaze, his eyes narrowed, searching for anything of interest.

Gohan knew Trunks was a gifted child when it came to his brains. He was mature for his age, only fourteen and with such a strong grasp on how the world worked. He asked questions that made sense to wonder about, clarifying questions, questions that showed he  _ understood  _ what Gohan was teaching him about Ki and manipulating energy. He didn’t make stupid decisions, he made  _ educated  _ ones. He wouldn’t have gone out to challenge the Androids unless he had a good reason.

_ He’s  _ ** _Bulma’s _ ** _ kid for pete's sake.  _

Gohan was curious what that reason could be.

Ofcourse, there was a second question bothering the older Saiyan, one that mattered much less to him, but still enough to merit asking.

_ How did he get away? _

The Androids were not well known for their mercy nor for their survivors rate. What's more, it sounded like Trunks had been beaten unconscious, meaning that he hadn’t narrowly escaped their sights after being defeated like he so often did.

Gohan was determined to get to the bottom of this.

Soon the two reached the rock formations they so often used as a resting grounds. The nearest city was twice as far away and home was roughly three miles further than that, so this became their cool down spot.

Once they’d each chosen their own respective shady rock to rest on, Gohan decided it was time to address the incident.

_ Man is this going to suck... _

“Trunks… we need to talk about something serious.”

Immediately, the boy’s head turned towards his mentor’s. Gohan could tell that he was trying to feign ignorance, uncertain if he knew what he did.

“Sure Gohan, what’s up?” His tone was a forced calm hiding nervousness. 

Gohan breathed a slow sigh.

_ Blunt and quick, just like a bandaid. _

“I know about what happened when I was in bed recovering. I know that you challenged the Androids without me.

Silence filled the air around them.

And then words spilled out of Trunks like a dam finally breaking from too much pressure.

“Gohan I am so sorry I really am I promise that I will do better in the future and will never challenge the Androids again really Gohan I am serious I don’t know what I was thinking it was foolish I know I never plan to do anything like that again just please don’t stop training me I really mean it when I say I’m going to listen from now on-”

“Whoa there Trunks!” Gohan shot the boy who was now standing a reassuring smile. “I’m not going to stop training you over this. It’d be outright foolish to do something like that.”

He watched the boy breathe a sigh of relief.

“ ** _However_ ** ,” He continued, watching the teen’s shoulders tense up again. “That doesn’t mean that you’re off scott free. You still went behind my back and risked your life against my, and your  **mother’s ** wishes. You’re going to be punished with rigorous,  _ tedious  _ training that I promise you will not enjoy.”

He watched as the boy’s eyes lit up with determination. “Of course Gohan! Just name it and I’ll get right to it!”

Gohan laughed, still resting on the rock. He motioned with his hand for the boy to sit. “Cool your jets kid, I haven’t decided what I want you to do just yet. I’ll tell you in the next couple of days, for now, I just want you to answer a few questions if you will.”

Trunks blinked once before nodding and sitting back down.

“First things first, I know you’re not a dumb kid, there’s no way you’d challenge the Androids unless you were reasonably sure you’d win or at least gain something out of it. So tell me.” Gohan’s jovial demeanor shifted to a more serious tone. “Why in the  ** _world _ ** would you pick a fight with the Androids knowing how strong you are right now.”

He watched the boy with a critical eye. He watched as Trunks started a sentence, stopped and started again only to stop once more.

“Trunks. I need an answer to this. I need to make sure that you’re still reasonably sound of mind otherwise I won’t be able to rest assured that you won’t do something like this behind my back a second time.”

He watched as a frown pulled at the boy’s lips. His gaze pulled away from his mentors as he mumbled something.

“What? Speak up Trunks I can’t hear you-”

“ **I thought it would force me to transform okay!?** ”

Gohan reared his head back at the sudden outburst. The teen looked angry, his fingers had curled into fists and his jaw clenched in a deep rooted frustration.

Immediately his expression softened. “Uh, I’m sorry...what I mean to say is that...well, I really have been listening to everything you’ve told me about how to become a Super Saiyan. The pain...the hurt...the  ** _need_ ** . I...I thought I’d finally figured it out when I challenged Android Eighteen. I figured...that the only piece I was missing was that  ** _need _ ** part, that sense of urgency, the life or death ultimatum you’ve always described to me.” He sighed, a far off look in his eyes. “I was wrong.”

“Trunks,” Gohan said his name with a sympathetic tone. “I can understand the desire to become stronger. I strive to do that every single day. But doing something like what you did is way too risky. You just need to keep at it, keep training and one day I promise that it’ll pay off. You’ll make an incredible Super Saiyan one day, I know it.”

“Easy for you to say!” The boy suddenly exploded, rising to his feet as he roared. “You’ve already become a Super Saiyan! You transformed when you were half my age! You’ve been saving the Earth since before I was even born, since before most kids lose their first tooth you’ve been punching bad guys in the face, you’ve spent more time than anyone else protecting the Earth, you’ve sacrificed and fought and hurt more than anyone I’ve ever known, and yet you still manage to be this incredible person!” Gohan’s eyes were wide as he watched the boy sniffle, his eyes beginning to glimmer. “I look up to you Gohan. You’re everything that I want to be when I grow up, literally, scars and all.” He laughed a sad laugh, a laugh a person only releases when they don’t want to cry. “Then there’s  _ me _ .” His head lowered so that his long lavender hair was obscuring his eyes. “A fourteen year old who’s never lost anything important, I still have my mom, I still have you, and all the other people I could have known, all the people that I could have loved were gone before I could even know them. Hell, I wouldn’t even know what my father looked like had it not been for that one lone picture mom took while he’d been napping.”

The boy sighed, his voice growing shaky. “You’ve done so much for this world. You’ve sacrificed so much for the people of Earth. Meanwhile, what have I done? What have I sacrificed in my efforts to save the planet? I can’t fight alongside you without being a liability, I’m not growing strong enough fast enough to ever matter in a fight, and I can’t seem to transform into a Super Saiyan even if my  _ life  _ is on the line!” The teen lowered himself until he was squatting, his hands holding the sides of his head as his shoulders trembled. He sniffed again. “I...I feel like every time I look at myself in the mirror, I only see everything that I’m  _ not _ . I want to be able to be by your side, battling the Androids, supporting you finally after years of watching you fight a losing battle  _ alone _ . I want to be the change that finally turns the tides, I want to be a hero like you are and become what I  _ need  _ to be so that I’m no longer just a bystander.”

The teen raised his head to meet Gohan’s gaze, revealing steady streams of tears each racing down the boy’s cheeks. “I want to stop being a  _ failure  _ Gohan. That’s why I fought Android Eighteen. I figured, that I was either going to succeed or die, at least one way or another I’d finally stop being a failure.”

The elder Saiyan let the silence between them grow as Trunks lowered his head again, no longer able to conceal the fact that he was crying.

He’d known the boy was smart, he’d known that the kid could understand complex thoughts, but he never figured that he would work out  _ all that _ . Gohan had never thought to question how all this weight would affect the younger Saiyan, being trained to one day face off against the Androids, being told that he would need to transform into a Super Saiyan if he ever wanted even a chance against them. It was a lot of weight to thrust on someone so young. He’d never realized it before because he’d been carrying the same weight for nearly all of his life. He’d known the responsibility of saving the Earth since he’d been five, and never thought to question what that weight might do on a person without the support system he’d had. For Gohan, he’d had his mom, his dad, Mr. Piccolo, Krillen, and even Vegeta when the time came for it. He had the entire gang to depend upon if he needed them.

But for Trunks, aside from Bulma, he was all the boy had.

_ God damn it Gohan, you’re not ready to be a dad. You’ve been so blind! _

Gohan determined that he needed to make this right. He needed to do what his dad did for him when he’d felt insecure, when he’d felt  _ afraid. _ He paused in thought, wondering how he could do that. He couldn’t tell the teen that he would be enough to stop the Androids, to save the world like his dad had for him because that would be a blatant lie. So if he couldn’t tell him that his own power would be enough...then what could he say?

His eyes widened a moment later.

_ I’ve got it! _

Gohan rose to his feet before slowly floating over towards where Trunks was. He knelt beside the boy, placing a gentle hand on his back. “Trunks, you are  ** _not _ ** a failure. You’re more important than you could ever imagine.”

He watched the young man wipe at his nose with his sleeve before croaking out. “How?”

Gohan took a moment to gather his words. He’d been holding off on saying this as it would reveal the true nature of what these training sessions really were, or at the very least, what they could be. He’d wanted the boy to have someone to look up to, someone who wasn’t afraid of anything to build up his hope that they could finally succeed one day, to mask the doubt that had been plaguing him for years. He’d wanted to cover any insecurities he had about the nature of their world in an effort to protect the boy from the truth, but in doing so he only succeeded in placing the young man in an inner turmoil that had been eating away at him since day one.

He internally sighed. Deep down, he’d known he would have to tell him eventually, he’d just never figured it would be so soon.

_ He would have figured it out by himself eventually if you’d given him time anyway, better do it now before that time comes. _

“Trunks, you are not a failure, far from it. You’re concerned about ‘contributing’ as you put it. Well, let me tell you that by being here, by meeting me for each of these training sessions, you’re helping more than I could ever hope for.”

Trunks raised his head, a questioning look on his face. “How?”

Gohan wore a grim expression now, his eyes no longer holding the light he forced himself to exude for the boy. He wasn’t bearing an aura of confidence anymore, he wasn’t pretending to be invincible anymore for the teen’s sake.

He was just being himself now. No more pretending, just honesty.

“Trunks, I can count the number of times I’ve actually  _ won  _ a fight on one hand.” He said raising his one hand with a sheepish grin that didn’t make it to his eyes. “But the number of times I’ve  _ lost  _ a fight?” he sighed, “I lost count of that number a long...long time ago.”

He saw the look on the boy’s face change, shifting from sorrow, to surprise. He could see the child beginning to understand his statement, processing it and realizing that it  _ must  _ be true.

Gohan encountered the Androids when he’d been seven. He was twenty three now and the Androids still existed.

He’d  _ lost _ .

“I’m not some big shot hero like you might think. Sure, I face off against the Androids regularly, I fight them for as long as I can hold out until I fall  _ again _ . For a long time, I fought for my life, I was  _ afraid  _ of the Androids, but as time went on, that fear slowly faded away. I looked at the Androids as just another aspect of my life, something that I would have to face again and again until eventually I got it right, until eventually I won and they were gone forever.” He paused, not wanting to say what he knew he had to. Finally, he let the words escape his lips. “Gradually, a new fear rose up that consumed the first one. A fear that paralleled what I thought was the only option for me. For the longest time I assumed that the only way was up, that I would grow strong enough to defeat them, that eventually I would be enough to save the world. Then, when enough time had passed and I’d matured a little bit… I began to consider what the world would look like if I  _ failed  _ for real just one time. I questioned what would happen if one time, I didn’t get back up, if one time, I didn’t make it out alive.”

“...”

Gohan could see Trunks working it out himself. His brow was furrowed, his mind most likely figuring it out before he even had to say it.

“I feared for my life, not because it was mine, but because I thought that if I fell then the world was finally doomed for real. If I went down, then there was nothing to stop the Androids.” He smiled finally, looking at Trunks with what could only be interpreted as  _ pride _ . “Then you came along and changed  _ everything _ . Suddenly there was someone new, someone with the same potential as myself if not more,  _ wanting  _ to learn,  _ wanting  _ to make a difference and finally put an end to the nightmare that this world is all too familiar with.” He patted the boy’s back reassuringly. “You gave me hope again Trunks. Hope that one day, even if I do fall, someone will rise and take my place and finally rid the world of the monsters it created.”

Trunks was looking at him now in disbelief. His tears had all dried up, his mouth was agape in shock. 

_ Maybe he hadn’t been figuring it out ahead of me… _

“Gohan…” The teen mumbled at a loss for words.

“Relax!” The elder Saiyan exclaimed slapping the boys back in a casual fashion. “I’m not saying that I’ve given up or that I don’t believe that I can win anymore. I still plan to destroy the Androids the moment the opportunity arises...I’m just saying that it’s nice to finally not be bearing all this weight by myself anymore. And while I hate that it’s  _ you  _ that has to bear this responsibility with me...I dunno, I guess it’s just nice to have someone there with me again, fighting the good fight and all that. I guess what I’m saying is that, even if you can’t fight alongside me  _ yet _ , even if you can’t be by my side physically, I still feel like you’re right there with me when I confront the Androids. Just knowing that you’re still around gives me the strength to keep fighting no matter how hard it gets.” He beamed as he watched Trunks return his smile, he could see the boy beginning to understand his message, what he was telling him and what it truly  _ meant  _ to him that he’d chosen to train by his side. “So thank you Trunks. Thank you for trying as hard as you do, for caring as much as you do, because now I know that the Earth will be safe. Knowing how much you care, I know that together you and I can find a way out of this mess, I’ve never been more confident in that fact.”

Trunks grinned ear to ear his eyes bright with life again, the sorrow he’d displayed earlier completely gone.

_ Not bad Gohan, not bad. _

The elder Saiyan commended himself as he watched his pupil’s spirits lift.

Without warning Trunks leapt to his feet, his eyes alive with energy. “Well now I’ve never been more pumped to train! Let’s get back to it Gohan! I’m not tired anymore! I’m ready to go!”

Gohan couldn’t contain his laughter as he rose to his feet as well. Maybe he’d done  _ too  _ good a job at revitalizing his spirits. “Alright alright, we’ll get back to it, I just need to ask you one more question if that’s okay.”

Trunks raised an eyebrow.

“When you faced the Androids, how did you make it out? I was told that you were found in the rubble of a destroyed building, so what happened?”

Trunks paused in thought before answering. “Well, actually, I only fought Eighteen by herself. For some reason Seventeen was nowhere to be seen.”

Gohan raised an eyebrow at this. Eighteen was  _ alone _ ? As far as he’d seen in his years of facing the Androids, whenever they went out to destroy things they always traveled together. They were attached at the hip as far as Gohan was concerned, to hear that Trunks had come across Eighteen alone was...strange to say the least.

“So what happened?” 

A sheepish grin ran through the boy’s lips as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. “Well, I tried my best, I’ll tell you that..but...well, it wasn’t enough.”

Gohan nodded.

“And...well...honestly I don’t know why she didn’t finish me.” Trunks frowned, “The last thing I remember from the fight is Eighteen standing above me, preparing to finish me off or so I thought.” he shrugged, “The next thing I know I wake up in a hospital.”

Gohan’s eyes were wide in surprise; His face locked in bewilderment.

“Uh, Gohan? You okay?” 

Blinking rapidly, Gohan stammered. “Uh, y-yeah I’m good. Just surprised that she spared you is all.”

Trunks snorted, “Doubt it, she probably got distracted or something. Picturing the Androids and ‘mercy’ in the same room is not something I can do.” he shrugged, “I just chalked it up to dumb luck.”

“Uh, yeah. You were very lucky.” He jabbed a finger into the boy’s chest, his face tightening into a serious expression. “And don’t expect to get that lucky again got it? From now on you don’t go off to face anything without getting an ‘okay’ from me understand?”

Trunks nodded eagerly as he started to float into the sky. “Alright alright can we get going? I’m really ready to fight now!”

Gohan couldn’t maintain the serious look he’d shot the boy. He chuckled, “Yeah, alright, let’s get back to it.”

The teen turned his back to the elder Saiyan and blasted off in the direction they’d been sparring earlier. Gohan followed, but at a distance, his mind trying to process the information he’d just been given.

Eighteen had  _ spared  _ Trunks just like she’d  _ spared  _ himself. That meant that his experience couldn’t have just been a fluke. It had been  _ intentional  _ that they’d been left alive. Gohan couldn’t figure  _ why  _ that was the case, but it seemed for whatever reason Android Eighteen was unwilling to put him down for good. Was it for the challenge? That didn’t make sense, they always  _ hated  _ when he would challenge them. So what could it be?

Gohan shook his head, deciding to address the thought later.

_ I don’t know what’s going on, but for some reason I can’t help but think that it can’t be good. _

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact, this is only half of what had been intended to be a full chapter which is the reason why it’s slightly shorter than my standard chapter length of 10,000 words (my chapter length standard). The reason I decided to split the chapter into two is because the full thing became this 23,000 word monster that was waaaay over the length limit I set at roughly 15,000 if I can help it. I believe the main reason for this was the flashback scene that occured in this chapter between Goku and Gohan. My original outline had 0 intention of making this its own thing, there was originally only supposed to be a passing comment about how Goku had helped Gohan feel safe again after Frieza’s defeat, but when I got to that section of the story I realized that I needed to write out this scene between Goku and Gohan, whether it be for myself or for the sake of the story. It’s inclusion tells an even more tragic story for the Gohan that has learned to live with one arm. It shows that unlike most versions of Gohan, this one had gotten to actually form a strong father-son connection with his dad. The time before the Androids in the original series was spent training up for their arrival, in this reality, there was no such training and as a result, Goku and Gohan would have had the proper time to bond as a father and son. Of course it’s entirely possible and more likely that Goku would have just spent the entire time alone training anyway knowing his lack of personality, but at least in this story I’d like to imagine that for a time Gohan got to know what it was like to have a proper father figure that wasn’t the man that kidnapped him.
> 
> This revelation for me was bittersweet as it tells us that Gohan got to truly learn to love his father before he was ripped from his life. It’s a sad smile, a grin that doesn’t make it to the eyes if you will.
> 
> Anyhow, back to the chapter as a whole. This was what became of Gohan following that night with Eighteen. He wasn’t very much affected by their interaction, but why would he? It was a night out drinking, he met a lady that he accidentally offended and walked away from him, for someone who’s used to being alone, that’s not that big a deal for him. Besides, he’s got bigger fish to fry with finding out that Eighteen had actively spared himself and Trunks. The Saiyan has started to sniff around for clues, and he’s a sharp boy too.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope this chapter interested you in what comes next! See you all tomorrow!


	7. The Second Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seventeen approaches his sister after her night out, curious as to what could have upset his sibling so much. Later, Eighteen begins to explore her options for the future.

- _ Seventeen- _

_ Oh man, this is a  _ ** _bad _ ** _ idea. _

Seventeen wearily moved down the hallway towards his sister’s room, a cup of black coffee in one hand, just how his sister liked it. He made sure that each of his footsteps didn’t make a noise as to not warn Eighteen of his presence until he was good and ready. 

_ I seriously hope she’s sobered up by now. _

She’d come back  _ drunk _ last night, so drunk that he was certain she would have died had she been a normal human girl.  _ That  _ in itself wasn’t the problem. His sister was usually a social drunk, she became looser, a little bit more bubbly, and overall an even more fun person to hang out with. 

The problem was that she had been  **angry ** too.

He’d only ever seen it once before. It’d been back when they’d still been human, when she’d gotten wasted after her boyfriend had dumped her for being too cynical and emotionless around him. The man had felt like she never really cared about him and only used him for money and the occasional booty call. Seventeen had later found out that the man had been completely right, Eighteen hadn’t cared about him, she had only wanted him for an occasional booty call and some free meals. He’d found out from his sister telling him directly, an uncomfortable conversation to be having with your sister if ever there was one, but she told him that she hadn’t been mad that the relationship was over, she was mad that  ** _he _ ** had dumped  ** _her_ ** . She’d lost boyfriends before, tossed them away like they were nothing more than a loose hangnail, but she’d never been  ** _dumped _ ** before.

Seventeen shuttered as he recalled the night. She’d done some truly cruel things that night, most of which he was certain would have landed her in prison had they been caught. Seventeen still questioned what became of the man she’d left naked in the snow cuffed to a stop sign. He’d also questioned  _ how  _ she’d managed to get him like that in the first place.

_ These are probably not questions I want the answer to. _

Seventeen nodded to himself, concluding  _ that  _ was the correct answer.

He was standing beside the door now, his hand posed to knock against what had before been her bedroom door, but now had a stop sign plunged through its splintered frame so that there was a big red ‘STOP’ projecting from her closed door. Seventeen momentarily questioned if she’d intentionally done that. It  _ seemed  _ like something she would do while angry drunk.

Seventeen breathed a shaky sigh as he prepared for what might come once he knocked on the door. She’d been  _ really  _ mad when she’d gotten back from  _ wherever  _ she’d been. He’d heard something massive hit the house, rattling it so much his drink had fallen off the counter in his room. When he’d walked over to her room to see what was going on, Eighteen had managed to nail him with a car tire so hard that it sent him crashing back into his own room. She promptly shouted ‘stay out’ before slamming the door and driving the stop sign which he was certain he’d seen at the end of their street directly into the door.

Later when he’d been certain the girl was asleep he’d gone outside to see if he could find what had struck the house earlier. He’d been surprised to see that she’d thrown what appeared to be an orange slug bug directly into the corner of the house that contained her room. She’d chosen to nap in the back seat over her own bed. Made sense since the bed was currently occupied by a three thousand pound vehicle.

_ So  _ ** _that’s _ ** _ where the tire came from. _

Well,  _ that  _ mystery was solved.

Now it was time to figure out the rest.

His knuckles nervously tapped against the door. “Eighteen? Are you awake?”

He waited with wide, anxious eyes listening for a response. For several seconds there wasn’t one, and then he heard shuffling, groaning, and the sound of a creaky metal door slowly opening.

_ Well, she’s awake now. Let’s hope she’s slept off most of the booze, or at least enough that she doesn’t want to hit us with the rest of the car. _

Seventeen nervously thought to himself as he heard his sister struggle to make her way to the other side of the door. He wondered if he’d just accidentally woken up the beast as he heard her stumble and slam against the door. She was still clearly drunk, and he couldn’t decipher yet if she was still angry. 

Seventeen didn’t know if he could take on her sister if she were still angry. The two of them would only on occasion come to blows if they grew annoyed enough with each other, sibling bickering and all that. They rarely went so hard to actually harm each other, but when they did get serious it was usually him that came out on top if some other variable like Blondie didn’t get in the way first. They’d never been able to tell the exact reason, if it was due to a difference in power or a difference in skill, but for one reason or another, he was often the better of the two in straight combat. However, with her mad? Seventeen questioned if he alone would be enough to stop her.

Finally, the door opened.

Seventeen had to resist the urge to laugh.

His sister looked like she’d just plowed through a building, bus, and then a plane before laying down to rest. Her clothes were shredded to the point that it would have been considered scandalous had they not been related. Oil and other debris had collected in her hair, shirt and body so that she looked like she had just gotten gravy poured on top of her. Her eyes were only half open, it was clear that she didn’t want to be awake. Despite not needing sleep, when they got extremely drunk it still helped to rest until the substance had passed completely.

“...ugh, wha-do you want Seventen?” She asked leaned against the door frame. Her words were still slurring slightly, her body language was relaxed.

The sober twin breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t angry. She was open to talking again.

“I was wanting to ask if you knew what happened last night.” He slowly reached out to hand her the still steaming drink. She took it slowly in her hands as she listened to the question.

“...huh?” She tilted her head at him squinting. He pointed a single finger towards the front of the slug bug currently lodged in her room.

He watched his sister slowly bring the cup to her lips, taking a slow, careful sip of the hot, bitter drink before her eyes widened.

“FUCK!” She shouted abruptly.

Seventeen lowered his stance, eyes wide as he prepared for the worst. Maybe he had been too quick to assume she wasn’t mad.

He watched as her eyes focused, her stance shifting so that she was no longer slouching against the broken door frame. She looked much more like herself now, aside from her torn and soiled clothes.

She turned back to him before promptly rolling her eyes. “I’m not gonna attack you relax.”

“Oh thank god.” Seventeen had not wanted to fight right now. He was still half way through BloodSouls 3 and he couldn’t assure the disk’s safety if they were to come to blows right now.

He watched her take a slow sigh, her gaze trailing off as she was obviously recalling the night’s events. Eventually, after taking another sip of the coffee her lips parted to answer. “I came to a realization that I didn’t like. I found out something about the two of us that I thought was stupid and I hated it but-”

Seventeen wore a bright grin as he interrupted. “Then forget about it! If ya didn’t like it don’t think about it. Life’s good sis, nothing to worry about here-”

“Can you just shut up and let me talk!?” She snapped.

Seventeen quieted moments later, he mimed zipping his lips shut and locking it before tossing the key away.

“What I was  _ gonna  _ say before I was  _ rudely  _ interrupted,” She glared at Seventeen harshly, “was that I thought it was stupid and I hated it but it was  _ true  _ and I couldn’t ignore it even if I wanted to.”

Seventeen tilted his head in confusion but didn’t dare to speak. He’d already thrown away the key!

“I realized that what we’re doing now...all this destroying and killing...I’m pretty sure that if we keep it up that it won’t end well for us.” Eighteen’s expression was serious as she stared into her brother’s eyes, telling him that what she was saying was the  _ truth _ .

Seventeen’s eyes were wide with shock, his mouth agape. 

Had Eighteen just told him that the way they’d been living for over  _ fifteen  _ years without consequence was somehow  _ bad _ ? The Android stood dumbfounded by the statement, staring at his sister as if she’d just sprouted a new head from her shoulder and started talking out of it.

“Don’t look at me that way.”

“...”  
“Well? I want your input!” 

Seventeen pointed a finger towards his mouth, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner, silently asking ‘I can speak now?’.

Eighteen rolled her eyes. “Talk dumbass.”

Seventeen took a second to take a deep breath in, and then out.

“Sis.” He began in a calm tone, wanting to keep the conversation low. He could see this growing into a big fight if he wasn’t careful. “We’ve been at this for like, Fifteen or Sixteen years now, we’ve been killing, and destroying, and doing whatever the hell we please for that  _ entire time _ and we’re still living like kings.” He motioned towards the massive, lavish house they’d acquired only a month ago. “We’re more in the clear than we’ve ever been with Blondie dead. Now we literally don’t have  _ anyone  _ that can pose even a minor threat to us, and you’re telling me that we should  _ quit _ !?” he stared at her incredulously, was she kidding? She was making absolutely  _ no  _ sense right now.

Eighteen closed her eyes, clearly gathering herself before speaking. “Seventeen, we can’t keep doing this. Last night I spoke to...someone, and I realized something I never thought of before.”

Seventeen blinked. His sister had spoken to someone about them? When? Last night? Who? His fingers curled into fists. Who the  **fuck ** was filling his sister’s head with nonsense?

And why was she  _ listening  _ to it in the first place?

Eighteen continued, “I realized that if we keep destroying everything, if we keep killing at the rate that we have, eventually there won't be anything left to destroy, eventually, there won't be anything left to kill...but each other.”

Seventeen blinked. Had she just said what he thought she had? Had she just told  _ him _ , that if they don’t  _ stop  _ doing what they want, that they would eventually  _ kill  _ each other?

The Android crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, a snide grin spreading across his face. “So, just to reiterate. You’re telling me that if we don’t stop doing whatever the damn hell we please, then one day you and me are gonna go at it and kill each other?”

He watched her slowly nod, her serious expression never faltering.

Seventeen nodded, slowly blinking as he acknowledged her statement. And then the man couldn’t stop laughing. He couldn’t help it, it was so damn  _ funny _ . He knew she had to be playing a trick on him now. There was  _ no way  _ she was being serious. He folded at the waste holding his stomach from the laughter. It took him thirty straight seconds of snorting before he straightened and wiped a tear from his eye.

“Man sis, I didn’t think you’d be joking today, but I gotta say you set that one up _perfectly_. You had me convinced that you were being serious and everything.”  
“I _am _being serious Seventeen. This is not a joke.”

Seventeen stopped laughing immediately, his eyes meeting hers in a serious glare. He was studying her, watching the way she was watching him. Being siblings they’d learned how to detect when one of them was lying to the other, for Eighteen, he could usually tell that she was lying if he managed to stare her down. The way her eyes wavered for a second was usually the way he could see past her false words.

Silence filled the hallway as he  _ glared  _ at her. She didn’t blink, her eyes didn’t waver.

Seventeen took a step back shocked.

_ She’s  _ ** _actually _ ** _ being serious right now isn’t she? _

He couldn’t believe it. What the hell type of talk did she have to completely go against everything they’d learned to accept as a natural part of their lives? What the hell could she believe to actually think that the fifteen years they’d spent having fun was  _ wrong _ !?

_ Who the  _ ** _fuck _ ** _ did she talk to last night!? _

Immediately Seventeen was pissed. “Who did you have this  _ stunning  _ revelation with Eighteen? Did you go to a shrink while drunk again? Because you know that they just say whatever they need you to say so that you won't kill them-”

“I didn’t see a shrink Seventeen! I’m not stupid! I know that!”

“Then who did you talk to!?” The younger brother roared. It was only by a minute and a half, but that still counted right?

“It doesn’t matter!” She roared back matching his volume.

“Well I think it does because you’ve somehow done a complete 180 and now you’re trying to tell me that we need to be a couple of goody two shoes and clean up our act? What, you think we should go out and have a public apology too!? Gee sorry guys I guess me and my sister were sorta jerks for the past decade and a half, but we could all get in a circle and sing Kumbaya to make up for it?”

“I’m not saying that either Seventeen!” Eighteen snarled at her brother.

“Then why don’t you tell me what you’re  _ saying  _ Eighteen, because right now it sounds like you’re thinking like a filthy  _ human  _ again and that shit isn’t going to fly around me!”

Eighteen took a deliberate step forward, slamming her forehead into her brother’s. “Are you  ** _threatening _ ** me right now Seventeen?” Her words were  _ seething  _ with venom. 

The harshness of her tone made Seventeen take a step back in surprise. 

_ Damn it. I did  _ ** _exactly _ ** _ what I’d set out  _ ** _not _ ** _ to do. _

He took a deep breath to compose himself. He needed to calm the situation before things got out of hand. This was is  _ sister _ . He loved her, even if she could be ridiculous at times. He didn’t want to hurt her.

“No,er yes, but-look I’m sorry.” He finally stammered out. He watched the dangerous look in her eyes fade away, easing as he watched her come to the same realization.

“Um, me too.” She awkwardly let out as she looked away embarrassed. “I didn’t explain it very well I think.”

Seventeen nodded as he relaxed. Even if he thought she was being ridiculous, he concluded that he should let her explain herself, sure, she wasn’t making sense  _ now _ , but maybe if he let her explain herself…

Seventeen was internally rolling his eyes. How in the world could she be right about this? It made no sense! Not even a little bit!

_ Stop it Seventeen, maybe there’s a  _ ** _shred _ ** _ of sense there. Just hear her out, and then make your decision. _

He sighed before saying calmly. “Maybe you could explain it to me. I might understand a little bit better then.”

Eighteen nodded, slowly taking a sip from her coffee as she did. He watched her consider her words, her eyes narrowing as she planned out how to explain what she was telling him. Finally, her lips parted, and she spoke. “It’s...it’s like if you were to get drunk every night and then push everyone away and like-er- well, imagine you have a daughter and you used to be a super important guy, no that doesn’t make any sense either.” She was holding the side of her head with her free hand now, eyes squinted, clearly still recovering from the hangover.

Seventeen waited patiently for his sister to say something that made sense.

“Look.” She said in an exasperated tone. “It took me almost a week’s worth of time to figure all this out and I’m hungover. I’d do a better time explaining things if you gave me a couple of days to figure out how to put it into words.”

Seventeen nodded grinning humorously at his sister’s frustration. “Sounds good. In the meantime, you think it might be a good idea to move house? Your room is kinda…” he trailed off looking over her shoulder at the vehicle currently leaking oil all over her bed. There was a person shaped stain in the sheets. Seventeen began to piece together how his sister had gotten oil all over herself. “Well, there’s a car in it frankly.” he said bluntly.

Eighteen nodded absentmindedly as she looked at the vehicle. “Yeah…believe it or not I actually don’t know where I got it. I vaguely remember drunkenly thinking that I needed a slug bug to be around to punch things, so I...stole one so that I could punch things  _ with  _ the slug bug?” she shook her head clearly exhausted. “I dunno man, it was a weird night.”

Seventeen let out an easy laugh. It felt good to see his sister making jokes again. “Alright, sounds good. You salvage whatever you can from uh, your slug bug adventure, and I’m gonna grab some stuff from my room. Maybe we could go to that one mansion in the east that you were looking at before? You know, the one you saw that fat guy lounging on a lawn chair before? I remember you thinking he was gross. Maybe we could kill him to make you feel better.” Seventeen turned to walk back to his room when suddenly a hand was holding his elbow. He looked over his shoulder and saw Eighteen staring back at him, a seriousness to her gaze.

“ **No.** ” She said with a tension to her voice. There was something there that Seventeen couldn’t decipher, a sharpness to her words that didn’t make sense to him. It was as if he were a child and she’d just stopped him from stepping out onto a busy street.

“No?” He repeated raising an eyebrow.

“No killing.” She said flatly, “I may not be able to explain things right now, but I need you to listen to me, no killing, I’m being serious.”

Seventeen blinked once, his jaw slack in disbelief. Eventually, he found the will power to close his mouth and turn back to address his sister. “You...you mean that don’t you? You actually don’t want me to kill anyone do you?”

She slowly nodded, keeping her eyes locked onto his the entire time.

She was being serious.

“I-, huh, look I-”

“ _ Please _ .” She said  _ pleading _ with her eyes. “Can you just listen to me this one time? Can you not fight me on this just this once? Call it a favor to your big sister.” She looked like she was truly  _ begging _ for him to listen to her. He was surprised, it was rare for her to drop the sharp glaring look she usually wore. It told him that she was  _ desperate  _ for him to listen.

He felt his defiant resolve slowly crumbling to his sister’s puppy dog eyes.

_ ...God damn it! _

Seventeen scowled as he pulled away, throwing his hands up in annoyance. It wasn’t like he  _ had  _ to kill anyone, but nothing irritated him more than being told that he  _ couldn’t  _ do something. He’d gotten used to having near nothing be off limits. He shot his sister one last agitated glare, trying to see if he had the resolve to fight her on this.

He saw her, clothes in taters, her eyes sincere and pleading, her room a mess, a car through her window. 

She looked  _ pathetic _ , like when a puppy fell down a couple of steps coming down the stairs, he just wanted to help her, to make her feel better.

“Fine!” He shouted as he crossed his arms annoyed.

He watched a relieved expression wash over her face. “Thank you Seventeen, I really appreciate-”

“You’ve got three weeks!” He added as he pointed a finger at her chest. “I’m not saying that I’m gonna go on a killing spree the day after three weeks is up, I do what I want when I want, but that’s when I’ll stop restraining myself. After three weeks, if I feel like it, I’m gonna blow up a city.”

He watched as her sister adopted a contemplative look. He could see it in her eyes, she was trying to determine if she still wanted to fight him on this.

_ That’s the most I’ll give. _

He told himself knowing that if his sister pressed him for more time, he’d likely fold. It was his  _ sister _ , even if they bickered constantly, he still loved her. He still wanted her to be happy at the end of the day.

She let out a slow sigh. “Alright, I’ll take what I can get. Maybe I’ll be able to figure out a better way to explain it to you during that time.”

_ Doubtful. _

He inwardly sneered. There wasn’t an ice cube's chance in hell that she could convince him to stop destroying, to stop killing. It was just too much  _ fun _ . It wasn’t the act of killing itself that was fun, but it was the sense of  _ power  _ that came with it that was absolutely  _ intoxicating _ . It was like being the main character in an over the top sandbox game. Like playing GTA but with the invincibility cheat on. Just being able to destroy anything and everything if he so chose to. Sure, he loved his sister and he could come to a compromise if he had to, but he wasn’t going to ruin the fun for himself just because she said so. If she wanted to give up their little game they played with the world, that was on her, but he wasn’t going to give it up, not for anything.

“If you say so.” he shrugged, “So we gonna get to packing or what?”

He watched as she looked over her shoulder with a frown. “Um...no i don’t think so.”

“But your room-”

“We’re in a literal mansion Seventeen, I can just pick a new room.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever sis, that’s fine by me. All that means is that I don’t have to pack my shit to go to a new place.” And it meant he could focus on beating Blood Souls 3. He imagined that in three weeks he’d have gotten good enough to face that damn dragon and king that kept kicking his ass. He’d probably have moved onto that weird spin off series Dark Born made by the same creator. He had no idea why they kept changing IP’s even if it was essentially the same game. 

He waved a hand over his shoulder as he started to go back to his own room. “Have fun moving your greasy belongings over to another room.”

“Have fun jerking off alone in your room!” She called after him with a sneer.

“Have fun washing the car fluids out of your hair!” He hollered back snickering. 

He could hear the scowl as she shouted “Fuck you!”

He’d reached his door when he’d shouted out “Fuck you too!” He shut the door behind him as he heard his sister grumbling to herself, stomping her way down the hallway to where there was a clean shower for her to wash herself off in.

The ebony haired Android sat down on his bed as he grabbed his controller. Pressing down on the center button, he prepared himself for the difficult gaming experience ahead of him.

_ Alright Blood Souls 3, I’m about to make you my  _ ** _bitch_ ** .

He grinned. Before pausing and remembering he’d never asked about  _ who  _ she’d spoken to before to reach her crazy conclusion that they needed to stop destroying stuff. He began to rise to his feet, still curious to find out the answer when he heard the sound of a shower turning on in the distance. He sighed, it would be awhile until she got out considering how dirty she’d been. He shrugged and sat back down on the bed. He’d remember to ask when she came to him about her reason for why they had to ‘quit killing and destroying stuff’. 

He scoffed.

How ridiculous.

  
  


- _ Android Eighteen, three hours later, West City- _

She’d donned her ‘Videl’ outfit as she called it now. She hated the name, but it was the name she’d chosen for herself back at the Blue Dragon the other night. She supposed it wasn’t the  _ worst  _ name, but it certainly could be better. 

She stood idly outside the Blue Dragon. She was wearing a simple, comfortable hoodie and some baggy pants. She knew that she didn’t look particularly  _ fashionable  _ at the moment, but after all the trouble she’d gone through to wash that damn oil out of both her wig and actual hair, she hadn’t had the energy to get dressed up.

_ What am I even doing here? _

She was staring down at the entrance to the bar with a distant look in her eyes. She didn’t know the exact reason, but she’d wanted to come  _ here _ . She’d tried to lay in her new bed, sleep in her new room, but it’d been so undeniably  _ boring _ that she’d felt like going back down to town. She’d lied to herself and told herself it was training, training to get used to not killing people or blow up any buildings. It was like a vaccine in her eyes, expose herself to them in a controlled environment so that when she encountered the disease  _ outside  _ of her disguise, she wasn’t tempted to blow them away with a flick of her wrist.

She slowly turned her head left then right and sighed. She’d already stepped inside the bar and looked around. It wasn’t too late, only 8:30 in the afternoon, so it wasn’t  _ quite  _ busy yet, but she imagined that it was going to get busy soon enough with how many people were starting to come by. 

She sighed, partially angry, partially disappointed. She’d entered the bar hopping that she’d find  _ him  _ there. Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen his face.

_ What the hell is wrong with me? _

She didn’t know why she wanted to talk to him again. It wasn’t like their last interaction had gone the way she’d wanted. It was more a desire to converse with someone who could relate to her on at least a base level. Seventeen was busy with his games and she was half worried if she tried to talk about their potential new way of life he would blow up on her again and go back on his word. Three weeks wasn’t a long time, but she would take what she could get while she could get it. 

_ Maybe if I talk to Gohan again I’ll figure out a way to convince my brother. _

She was sober now, but she couldn’t figure out a way to properly convey what she was trying to tell Seventeen. She’d spent hours walking around aimlessly, thinking about the matter, trying to find the right words so that he would hear her message, but every time she could imagine him snarling at her explanation, telling her that she was nuts and walking away having taken away  _ nothing _ . Despite being twins, they’re personalities were hardly similar. Sure, they liked to feel powerful, in that way they were one and the same, but other than that, the way they interpreted information was entirely different.

She turned on her heel, not knowing where she was heading as she slowly walked down the street away from the bar. Sure, she knew where Gohan lived now, but it wasn’t like she could just hang outside of his building without drawing suspicion.

She sighed.

She didn’t have an answer, despite all her efforts, despite going through this elaborate plan to find her answer, she still didn’t have it. Sure, she’d finally come to the conclusion that her destructive nature would eventually lead to her own destruction, but that didn’t mean that all her problems were solved. 

She was only half the problem, the other half was Seventeen.

If she didn’t find a way to convince him, then it wouldn’t matter if she stopped destroying things. He would continue demolishing places, killing people, not to mention find out that she  _ hadn’t  _ in fact killed Blondie.

“Uuuuggh,” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she made this realization. If she didn’t find a way to get her brother to stop attacking cities, he was going to find out she’d  _ spared  _ Gohan when he’d gone off to find some new underpants. That would undoubtedly result in even more questions and Eighteen didn’t even want to think about what that would spiral into. 

_ Not to mention I’ll be forced back into it… _

Eighteen knew that if she told her brother she was done destroying cities that wouldn’t stop him from going ahead himself. He was bull headed, and even if he found out that Blondie was still around to challenge him, that wouldn’t stop him. He’d go out and do what he normally did even if he was by himself, and she being the concerned sister she was would have to go to make sure that Blondie didn’t get the best of him. He’d likely bug her to participate in blowing up a building or two, and then she’d slowly revert back to the way things were. Straight back to the eventual deaths of herself and her brother.

“Fuck me is this a shit show.” She mumbled to herself as she lowered herself to a crouch, wrapping her arms around her torso in a self comforting manner. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this much  _ stress _ . It was like her whole world was unraveling and she didn’t know how to stop it.

“H-hey! Let go! Leave me alone man!” 

Her head slowly lifted, her eyes turned towards where she’d heard the voice. On the other side of the otherwise vacant road she could see three men surrounding a short, rather chubby man clutching a briefcase to his chest like his life depended on it. The three men were dressed in dark clothes, colors that would easily blend into the darkness that was coming with the later hour. The chubby man was wearing a far more pristine looking suit, it was obvious that he came from money. She watched as one of the men shoved the suited man back into an alleyway. It was clear that this was a mugging.

She grinned.

_ Oh this is gonna be good. _

The woman slowly rose to her feet before positioning herself so that had she a good view of the show.

She watched as the shorter man who she’d decided to call ‘chubby’ turned on his heel in a feeble attempt to run for it. He got about three steps before one of the larger men caught up with him and kicked out his legs. She decided to call this one ‘Baldy’ due to the shine that glinted off his head when under just the right amount of street light. She had to stifle a laugh as she watched Baldy trip Chubby to the ground. Chubby hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, the slap of his out of shape body actually prompting a wince from Eighteen. She was grinning with a bright smile as she watched. This was  _ awesome _ .

_ Thank you whoever is looking out for me up there, I really needed a good show to make me feel better. _

She leaned up against a wall as she continued to watch.

A boot from ‘Short-Stuff’ connected with Chubby’s mouth. She could see blood splatter from his face as he fell back pathetically. Despite this, he still held the briefcase to his chest defiantly as the man she’d decided to call ‘Edgy’ from the skull bandana he’d used to cover his face tried to tear it from Chubby’s hands.

“N-No! You can’t have it!”

“We’re gonna get it sooner or later so you might as well give it to us now!” Shouted Edgy.

“G-Go f-fuck yourself!”

She raised an eyebrow. She was surprised to see any amount of spine out of Chubby.

_ Way to deny stereotypes Chubby. _

She watched as Short-Stuff stomped on the man’s ribcage.

_ Now prepare to get the shit beat out of you. _

She wished she had some popcorn right now, that was the only way that this could get any better. 

She watched as the others started to join in, driving their boots into the man’s head, stomach and back again and again before pausing and trying to pry the briefcase from his hands again. Much to her surprise, he still denied them whatever was in the case.

They started to kick again.

_ Not a very  _ ** _creative _ ** _ beat down… _

It wasn’t long before Eighteen found herself getting bored of their mugging. The girl sighed as she pushed herself off the wall and began to make her way down the road.

“W-Wait! You! There! Please call the police!”

Eighteen paused as she heard Chubby call out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that he and the other three  _ musketeers  _ had noticed her move from her spot.

_ Not my problem buddy. _

She turned to keep walking when she heard one of the men call out. “Hey bitch! You know you didn’t see nothin right?”

_ Bitch? _

She turned to look at him. She could see that they’d all paused to make sure she wasn’t pulling out her phone to call the police on them. 

_ Wrong move buddy. _

She smiled as she raised a single hand, she gave them a thumbs up before turning back to walk away.

“N-no! Please! Help-urk!” She heard Chubby get kicked in the jaw again as she continued on her way. She waited until she’d rounded a corner before she looked around, checking to see if anyone was around.

There was no one.

_ Shouldn’t have called me a bitch Baldy. _

Immediately she rose into the sky and began to make her way back to the alleyway. She wasn’t  _ exactly  _ sure how she wanted to do this, but she was definitely  _ not  _ going to let someone call her a  _ bitch  _ and get away with it. 

She kept her hands in her pockets as she looked down on the group, letting the beat down continue a little while longer until she stepped in. She knew that straight up  _ killing  _ them was off the table. This was supposed to be a training exercise after all right? But severe bodily harm? She could make an exception for that.

_ Of Course that leads to the obvious question of  _ ** _how _ ** _ I’m going to not be seen. _

She couldn’t let her face be seen otherwise it was possible that someone might be able to identify her later. She didn’t want to drop the disguise and beat them up as Eighteen otherwise the whole city would think she’d turned vigilante and she  _ definitely  _ did  _ not _ want that.

_ Hmmm...what to do what to do… _

She idly thought to herself as she watched Edgy pick up Chubby and throw him into the wall.

She smiled.

_ There we go, some variety! _

She continued watching for a few minutes longer before an idea came to her. She had all this long black hair didn’t she? It continuously got in her face, why not use  _ that  _ as a disguise.

She frowned.

_ Not one of my best ideas...probably one of my worse...  _

She shrugged. She didn’t really care anymore.

  
  


- _ Dom, Alleyway- _

Dom picked up and pushed the pathetic mess of a man to the wall. “Ready to give it up now Calen?”

Blood was running down the man’s nose now, his right eye swollen shut, tears running down each cheek.

“N-not, a-a, c-chance asshole...Urk!” He grimaced as he felt a fist drive into his stomach.

“Hey,” Dom grinned beneath his bandana, clearly enjoying this. He reached out a hand behind him. “Someone hand me the knife, let’s show him what happens when you don’t  _ cooperate _ .”

“...”

“...Guys?” Dom looked over his shoulder.

He found no one.

The man dropped Calen to the ground as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What the fuck? Guys? Where’d you go?” He took a step away from Calen, a frown firmly planted on his face. Where had they gone? Had they heard sirens?

He heard a  _ snapping  _ noise followed by a muffled cry.

His head swiveled towards the entrance of the alleyway. He’d heard it from around the corner.

He looked over his shoulder at Calen. The man had his eyes closed tightly, his arms still wrapped around the precious briefcase. He turned his head back towards where he heard the noise when he heard a “P-Please no- NO!” 

** _SNAP!_ **

Dom frowned as he slowly approached the street, confident that Calen was too beat up to try and make a break for it. He rounded the corner and froze.

His eyes were wide with fear as he stared down at the coupled mess that were his friends. Cod and Jen were both on the ground, eyes shut in a tight grimace. It looked like Cod’s leg had been violently bent the wrong way. The man was lying on the ground, tightly pulling his leg into his chest in a painful grimace. Jen wasn’t fairing much better, the man looked like one of his wrists had been  _ broken _ , snapped and bent past how far it was suppose to go. His foot also looked  _ flat _ , as if a steamroller had ran over it.

“Oh, sorry. I was saving you for last because I didn’t want to interrupt what you were doing with Chubby back there. I guess if you’re done now, I can start on you.” He heard a feminine voice, say from behind him.

The man swung around to see a petite girl standing just behind him, a mess of black hair hanging in front of her face, completely hiding her facial features.

“W-What?” He growled as his fingers tightened into fists. He didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t going to take any shit from no one! “Get lost bitch, before I sink your teeth down the back of your throat!” He watched as the girl tilted her head to the side as if his demand had raised a question in her mind.

“You know what? That’s a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion.”

The man snarled as he pulled back a fist. He hadn’t held back on his mom, he wasn’t going to hold back here. 

Suddenly there was a blur, and his face exploded in pain. It felt like a baseball sized ball of pure steel had just collided dead on with his mouth going fifty miles an hour. The man felt his front teeth  _ literally  _ hit the back of his throat, at least six or seven of them, as blood began to violently pour from his now bleeding gums. The man staggered back holding his face. It’d been a long,  _ long  _ time since he’d been hit so damn hard. He felt the blood dripping through his fingers as he tried to catch his teeth from falling out of his mouth. He leaned forward, hoping that he could use gravity to get his teeth out from the back of his throat.

“You know, leaning over like that puts your face in perfect ‘knee-to-the-nose’ position.”

_ What? _

He saw a blur rushing towards his face.

Then it all went black.

- _ Eighteen- _

She watched the man fall back onto the ground, his nose now crumpled into his face, blood immediately pouring from the injury. He would live, that much was certain, but Eighteen was less certain of how his face would look once it was all healed. She imagined he’d resemble porky the pig a little bit from how crumpled back his nose was.

She grinned looking down at the man.

_There ya go Edgy, now you have a reason to wear that stupid edgy bandana.__  
_ She looked between the three men at her feet, seeing if any of them were still conscious, seeing if any of them could even get up if they’d wanted to.

They stayed down.

Eighteen’s face had a delighted smile spread across it, even if you couldn’t see it from the outside. Her hair covered everything, so that you could only get glimpses of her face if you really looked hard enough.

She felt the rush of  _ power  _ flow through her again. That feeling she’d always get whenever she destroyed a building or blasted a beam through a fleeing man’s torso. It was the  _ ability  _ to do all those things, the strength and incredible sensation of pride that swelled knowing that you could fold the world over with your thumb. She felt like how she had when she’d  _ killed  _ those three men back in the van and made it look like an accident. She’d had the  _ power  _ to do that, the power to fool literally everyone and get away scot clean. It was a  _ rush _ , a revitalizing feeling that left her in a state of euphoria unlike any drug, unlike any drink could give her. She’d tried weed, and cocaine, meth, and all the other hard drugs. How could she not? She was literally an immortal who never had to rest. She’d tried it all several times over during her and her brother’s fifteen years of terror. They’d been fun, and they’d certainly left her feeling really,  _ really  _ good.

But this? This feeling right here? There was nothing else quite like it. Knowing that you were the cause of such calamity, knowing that you were special, that  _ you  _ were chosen to wield such a great strength, it was  _ intoxicating _ . 

That was the real reason she and her brother had killed as much as they had, not because the specific act of killing was fun in itself, but knowing that they had the ability to tear a man in half with hardly any amount of effort was  _ fascinating _ . The world was tissue paper and they were a couple of flamethrowers. How could they not set it on fire?

“T-Thank you -M-ma’am.”

Eighteen froze, her eyes wide with shock as she heard the voice behind her. Very slowly, she turned around to face much to her surprise  _ Chubby _ . He looked like he could barely stand by the way he was limping as he approached her, leaning against the wall to support part of his weight as he did so. He hadn’t seen what she’d done yet, he was still in the alleyway, he’d only seen her figure standing above the men.

He had a bright, stupid smile on his face revealing where it looked like a tooth was now missing. He was staring at where he thought her eyes were to be, not quite meeting her gaze but doing his best approximation.

Eighteen dared not to say a word, dared not to make a move. He was going to see what she’d done to these men in a few moments, and she did not want him to start screaming and draw even more eyes to this exchange.

_ Damn it. I thought he’d be out by now. That’s why I left you for last Edgy! Can’t you even knock out a civilian right you damn idiot!? _

She internally growled at herself for the situation. She wanted to rush forward and connect her elbow with his forehead, drop him for good until someone called the police. But looking at his condition, bruised and cut up in several places, his leg clearly broken in some places, his eye swollen shut and bleeding, she didn’t know if he’d make it if she knocked him out right here.

And she could  _ not  _ kill anyone.

_ FUCK. _

She didn’t know what to do anymore. He was coming around the corner now, limping feebly as he did so. He was going to see what she’d done, he was going to see that she’d  _ brutalized  _ these men and he was going to scream. She needed to leave, leave before he saw and-

“I-If you h-hadn’t come around, I don’t know w-what would h-have happened-!” He froze wide eyed as he finally pulled his gaze away from her and to the men at her feet. She was glad her face was covered because if he had seen it in that moment he would have seen her  _ nervous  _ for once. It was like watching someone survey her work after she was done and she already knew she had failed.

_ God damn it Chubby, why did you have to go and make this harder than it had to be? _

She watched the man’s lips part, taking a sharp intake of air. Eighteen prepared to rush forward and knock him out if he started to scream.

“T-That’s what you assholes  **deserve!** ” He spat down on the men.

Eighteen froze.

_ What? _

She watched as he staggered forward, pushing off the wall in a poor attempt to gain momentum before moving as fast as he could, pulling back a foot and ramming it into Edgy’s already decimated face. It made a wet slapping sound as it made impact.

“And d-dont you forget it!” He scowled before spitting on the man’s cheek.

Eighteen watched stunned as the man’s sharp scowl shifted into an embarrassed smile, looking over at her as if she’d just caught him doing something wrong. It was like she’d just caught him with a hand in the cookie jar when he’d not supposed to take one.

_ Meanwhile I own the whole damn bakery. _

She thought to herself as he slowly made his approach. Eighteen didn’t know why she was wary of the man. It wasn’t like he was any type of threat to her. His ankle looked like it had rolled, his knuckles and nose were bleeding, in all regards he was likely the most vulnerable a person could be while still conscious. She imagined that any passerby could take him down if they really wanted to.

_ And yet...he’s...approaching me. _

Eighteen realized she felt something, a  _ feeling  _ rising in her chest. It resembled the euphoria that  _ breaking  _ the thugs had granted her...but it was...different, somehow. She couldn’t determine what made it different quite yet. It was foreign, and yet familiar. Like she’d seen it before, but never actually experienced it herself.

Eighteen remained quiet as she observed the man.

“Sorry about that, haha, I h-hope you don’t mind that I joined in for a little bit, that guy especially was a huge prick.” He smiled at her.

A silence began from the two of them. Eighteen realized he expected a response from her. 

She shook her head no. She didn’t mind that he’d joined in, in fact, she’d been rather impressed to see he had a fighting spirit at all. He’d stood his ground, took a beating a lesser man would have done anything to stop, and protected the one thing they’d wanted the entire time. Eighteen eyed the briefcase he still had clutched to his chest with both hands.

She was curious, what was so important that the man would risk his own life over it? She had to know.

She thought about ripping it out of the man’s hands and just seeing what was in it herself but thought against it. He was calm right now, he was  _ thankful  _ right now. He thought she’d done this  _ for him _ .

She snickered at the thought. She’d done this because they’d offended her, not because she’d cared at all for his wellbeing. Despite this, she felt like she should go along with this, less chance of causing a scene. 

But she still wanted to know what was in the briefcase. 

She aimed a finger at it in a simple gesture, tilting her head to the side as she did so.

She watched him startle, his eyes widening in fear as the hands that had been holding the briefcase loosely before suddenly tightened their grip around the item.

“N-No please! Not you too!”

Eighteen sighed rolling her eyes. She shook her head slowly, making it obvious that she wasn’t after whatever was in the damn briefcase. She repeated the gesture, pointing at the briefcase while tilting her head to the side.

She watched his eyebrows furrow, not quite understanding her question.

She sighed. 

“...What’s in it…” She spoke in a hushed tone, as to not fully give away what she sounded like.

His eyes widened. “Oh! You’d like to see what’s inside?”

She nodded.

She watched as the tension in his shoulders relaxed and relief flooded his face.

“S-sure! Here, l-let me show you!”

She watched as he started to adjust the code on the briefcase, unlocking it with a four digit code before opening it. Eighteen raised an eyebrow as he turned the opened briefcase her direction. Inside was a loose collection of checks written out in exact sums of money along side several stacks of money bound by rubber bands.

She frowned, tilting her head still. She could not make heads or tails of it, why was he carrying a suitcase full of loose money in there? There wasn’t too much, maybe only around two thousand or so worth of bills. Enough to be significant, but not life changing by any means.

“I-It’s my payroll haha.” He chuckled with a bright smile. It impressed her that he could still smile like that despite being so beaten up. He was genuinely happy. 

Eighteen felt a slight pull at her lips to smile with him.

“I-I own a small restaurant on the north side of town. I only have a handful of employees at the moment since business has been slow. I used to print out all my checks at the restaurant itself, but with the attacks, it’s rarer and rarer for people to have their official information anymore.”

Eighteen felt her eyebrows furrowing, why was that?

“...Why?” she found herself asking, it didn’t make sense, how could her attacking cities cause people to lose their personal information? And how did that translate to him carrying roughly two thousand zenny worth of loose bills on him?

“Oh, well you know. When the Androids attack it’s not like you have the time to gather everything you have and run. Most people just make a break for it, grabbing their loved ones and running as fast as they can with only the clothes they have on.” He chuckled, “There’s been many a time that I escaped with my life in only a T-shirt and some boxers haha. Better survive with nothing but your underwear than not at all am I right?”

She blinked, surprised. She’d never thought about that. When she and Seventeen chose to terrorize a neighborhood, watching all the people run out of their houses like cockroaches, she never thought about the fact that they were leaving everything but their children behind. She wondered how it would feel to know you were likely going to lose everything but the clothes on your back and the people who’d made it out with you. Dropping all the roots you’d put down, just to survive another day.

It was a sobering thought.

It didn’t make her feel guilty at all, if anything it just demonstrated how much more impactful her power was. She’d never known about how this part of her power impacted life, it was interesting to hear about.

She nodded.

“With my restaurant so new, I couldn’t exactly be picky about who I hired now could I? Alot of my employees don’t have proper identification, so I have to pay them under the table with this.” He motioned towards the loose bills within the case. “I have to go to the bank every payday to make sure that my guys get paid, otherwise I might lose them and then I’m out a server.” He sighed, his eyes brimming with tears. “Usually I hire a security guard to walk with me since I don’t have the money to buy a car quite yet. Jade is usually the girl I get, she’s expensive, but she’s definitely worth it. This morning she called in sick, telling me that I would need to get a backup guard to walk me today. Of course it’s not like I have a long list of guards on standby, with so many facilities being attacked all the time, just one good security guard is hard to come by.” He frowned. “I’d thought about telling the staff they would have to wait one more day but some of them have families they have to support and rent that is due tomorrow, so it would be bad if I stalled it for a day. I thought I would do it myself, thought it would be okay if I did it alone just this time, guess one of my staff told some ‘buddies’ that I would be going it alone this time.” He sighed, obviously disappointed that he’d been betrayed. “Guess I’ll have to look out for which of them did it. Can’t let this be happening again now can I?”

She nodded. He would definitely have to, otherwise they would just come back with more guys next time.

He laughed nodding with her. “Oh! Here! It’s not much, but I believe that a job well done should be rewarded no matter how little the pay.” She watched him struggle to reach around to his back pocket, wincing as he reached into withdraw his wallet. He took out three notes, roughly sixty zenny worth, and stretched out his hand to her.

She stared down at the money with wide eyes.

“Here, take it. I know it’s not much, it’s chump change compared to what I usually give the guard. If I’d known I was going to run into you, I would have brought more haha!” he announced with a beaming smile.

Eighteen was frozen stiff staring down at the money. The weird feeling she’d had before had returned and it was  _ much  _ stronger now. She was being  _ rewarded _ , for beating up these men. It was  _ jarring _ . Usually the reward was what she had taken from the people she’d harmed, it was the act of destroying and hurting in itself that was her reward. To be rewarded from doing the  _ opposite _ , for  _ protecting  _ someone even unintentionally, was  _ strange  _ to say the least.

It wasn’t a... _ bad  _ strange either, it was still an acknowledgement of power by the people lesser than her. It was still someone seeing her strength and knowing that they were the lesser, but this time they were  _ happy  _ that they were weaker than she. They were  _ grateful  _ for her being stronger, they  _ wanted  _ her to be stronger,  _ wanted  _ her to continue being the stronger one because she was willing to  _ protect  _ them. 

In a sense, her power had become  _ his  _ power, they shared it, it was still hers in every way, hers to do with as she pleased, but now there was someone else that could benefit from it, someone else who she could share this feeling with. 

She reached out and took the money from the man. 

He smiled at her.

“In fact!” He suddenly reached into his wallet a second time, retrieving a card from it and offering it out to her. “Here’s my business card. If you can do this to three grown men, then you’d be an incredible replacement for my current body guard.”

She looked down at the card.

_ Calen’s Caring Pizza Place… _

She cringed. She could tell why his business was slow, his name was  _ terrible _ .

“Please, take it, I promise I could pay you handsomely if you escorted me to and from the bank every other week. And I promise to shut up if you find my voice annoying.” He joked.

She stared at the card for a long time. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she would ever take him up on his offer, it wasn’t like she needed the money anyway, if she wanted something, she’d just take it, didn’t matter if she had the money or not, she could just steal the money if she didn’t want to outright steal the item she was after. The only question was then, if she was going to take the card or not.

She studied the man smiling back at her, offering a card for a position under his management. 

She took the card.

“Ah, thank you. I promise you won't regret it if you stop by. Address is on the back by the way, swing by and I’ll even give you a free pizza with a drink!”

She nodded.

“Welp, I should be on my way. I’ll have to stop by the hospital before heading in. I’m sure my employees will be willing to wait a few extra hours for their checks knowing I got jumped on my way to work haha!” 

Eighteen frowned. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, gesturing to it.

_ Call an ambulance you idiot, you’re bleeding! _

She scowled, had this idiot goten hit so hard he couldn’t think straight now?  
He chuckled darkly, clearly troubled. “Ah yes, it would be a good idea to call an ambulance now wouldn’t it?” She watched him pull out a cell phone with a freshly cracked screen. “I unfortunately won’t be able to ride in it due to how expensive it is now a days, but I’m sure these men will certainly need it.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him begin to dial, he was going to call an ambulance for the men who’d just beaten him up? Where was the logic in that?

She watched a dark smile pull at his lips as the phone rang. “I’m sure they’ll get stuck with a  _ huge  _ medical bill with the condition you left them in. Good work by the way, they  _ deserved it _ .” He said in a darker tone. 

She raised an eyebrow.

_ This guy has a bit of a dark side to him doesn’t he? _

She grinned. 

She liked him. He had a physically weak body, but he had a  _ strong  _ personality. She could appreciate that type of person. He kept going no matter how hard he got knocked down. She could respect that kind of strength.

He almost reminded her of Gohan for a second. Beaten, broken, but not giving up by any means. She bet he would take a beating twice as bad as the one he’d taken, pick himself up, brush himself off and go off to work like nothing had happened. He wasn’t shooken up by this experience  _ at all _ .

She put the card and money in her pocket for later.

She watched as he finished the call, telling the person on the other end the street corner and the current condition of the men. She noted how he’d specifically referred to her as a ‘mysterious figure, maybe 6’2? Definitely bald’. She watched him hang up the phone and wink to her.

“Not gonna rat out my potential new employee now am I? What type of boss would I be?” He turned his head left and then right. “You should probably go soon though, don’t want to be around when the cops get here now do you?”

Her eyebrows were raised. She was genuinely surprised by this man. She could hear the sirens far off in the distance now coming their direction.

_ Time to go I guess. _

Without thinking it through, she lifted off the ground, intending to fly off before the police could arrive. 

She paused when she heard Calen suck in a sharp breath. She looked back to him, realizing what she’d done with wide eyes.

_ … Damn it… _

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he was going to freak out now. There were only three people that had ever shown any ability to fly before, Blondie, that Trunks kid sometimes, and the  **Androids** .

She prepared for him to scream.

_ Damn. _

She had really not wanted to knock him out. She prepared to strike out and chop him in the neck. Ambulances were going to be here soon anyway, he should make it.

“A  _ super hero! _ ” He breathed out like a fan meeting someone they admired for the first time.

_ ...What? _

“Oh I’ve been hoping a new superhero would pop up! I’ve dreamed of someone like you finally coming around and making a difference!” He gushed excitedly. “I mean, we haven’t had a legitimate hero in so long! I mean, sure, there’s the Golden Warrior, but he only comes around to fight the Androids, he doesn’t come and help the little guy like you are!”

She felt like she’d just been splashed with a pool of water and then gotten thrusted into a winter blizzard.

He thought she was  **WHAT** ?

The sirens were getting closer. He looked over his shoulder with a worried expression before turning back to her. “You should go now! The police will be here soon, go! Go!!” He ushered her with a hand to leave.

Eighteen quietly complied as she slowly drifted into the air, watching him wave to her with an excited smile on his face. She took one final second to pause, studying the man, looking at his bright, happy face, and then to the men she’d brutally beaten. She acknowledged the pocket change she had in her pocket, and the card with the man’s name, phone number and work address on it.

_ Huh. _

She turned and flew off.

She’d made someone happy today.

It hadn’t been intentional.

But it hadn’t been an... _ unpleasant  _ experience she supposed.

  
  


- _ Gohan _ -

The Half Saiyan was grinning to himself as he flew towards his apartment far off in the distance. His eyes narrowed as the sun had long since set, the night taking priority as he yawned. He was definitely going to be getting a good night’s sleep tonight. Trunks had come at him with a new life to his strikes and had actually proven to be a legitimate challenge in his base form. He was proud of the boy, and looking forward to their upcoming training session as he felt he would actually get some training in rather than spending all his time correcting the boy for once.

_ He’s got so much untapped potential. _

Gohan thought to himself excitedly. If the boy was already this strong  _ before  _ he transformed, he would make for a formidable opponent once he finally had become a Super Saiyan. 

Gohan was eager to see that day.

He could see his building now, it was only a few blocks away as he zoomed towards it at a casual speed. He began to look about as he neared his window to make sure that no one was watching him. Ever since he’d learned that there were people who couldn’t be sensed like the Androids, he’d taken to relying on his vision more than his Ki signature sense.

He paused in his flight as he floated above his building. There was someone sitting on the bench outside his building. Someone...familiar.

_ Huh, I never thought I’d see  _ ** _her _ ** _ again. _

Gohan thought to himself as he recognized Videl sitting outside his apartment complex with a styrofoam drink in her hand. She had the straw to her lips, and she was staring down at what looked like...some money in her hand? 

Gohan frowned, why was she in front of  _ his  _ building? There wasn’t a chance she could have known he lived here, there wasn’t a chance a normal person could follow him home, so was it possible that this was her building too and he’d never noticed? Or maybe she’d just called a ride and was waiting on the bench until it came.

_ Either way, it’s one hell of a coincidence that I’d come across her again  _ ** _here _ ** _ of all places. _

For a moment, Gohan questioned whether he should swing by and talk to her. Their last conversation had seemed to go smoothly enough, well, that was until she’d abruptly left without providing so much as a word of explanation. He’d wondered what had happened in that conversation for her to have reacted in such a bizarre way. It hadn’t kept him up at night or anything, but he had been curious.

He decided it wouldn’t hurt to talk to her and find out if she in fact did live in his building. She was rather cute, and it would be nice to make a genuine new friend if at all possible. Besides, she’d shown an interest in him, hadn’t she?

He began to float down. She already knew who he really was, no point in hiding it.

- _ Eighteen- _

_ ...fifty five Zenny left… _

She idly thought to herself as she brought the straw back to her lips. She’d gone out and bought a soda with the money she’d been given. It’d been odd, the transaction that is. She’d bought a soda before, hell she’d bought hundreds of sodas before, but it had never been with money she’d earned  _ herself. _ It had always been money she’d  _ stolen,  _ never with money that someone had given to her willingly.

She stared down at the money in her hand, the money she’d earned legitimately, not through bullying someone, but through  _ saving  _ someone.

She put the money back in her pocket, keeping it separate from the money she had on her person from the family she’d stolen it from back at the house. She didn’t know why she kept them seperate, but she did. For some reason it felt significant that she did.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d see you  _ here _ of all places.”

Eighteen startled immediately, jumping from her seat as she heard the voice. Who the-!?

She looked up and saw just the man she’d been waiting for slowly descending to the ground, he had an amused smile on his face. Her eyes narrowed, she did  _ not  _ like being made the fool.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m not used to addressing someone who knows who I really am haha.” He rubbed the back of his neck with an energetic smile on his face.

She smiled back rising to her feet. She would accept his apology, if only this one time. If he did it again though, there would be hell to pay.

“Oh, hey,” She mumbled awkwardly. She realized then that she didn’t actually have a plan as to what she’d wanted to say to Gohan. She’d come here thinking that was the hardest part, arriving at his apartment complex, but now she had to actually  _ speak  _ to him.

_ ...damn it… _

She didn’t know what to say.

“So...what are you doing here? Is this your building?” He motioned with his one hand towards the building behind her.

She briefly looked over her shoulder, acknowledging it before turning back to him. She shook her head. “Um, no, I don’t live here.”

“Oh...waiting on someone then?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that.” 

“Oh, is that right.”

“Yeah,”

“...”

“...”

She frowned, she was doing a  _ horrible  _ job at this.

She watched Gohan’s gaze awkwardly trail away before his eyes widened remembering something. “Oh! I uh, wanted to apologize for the other night. I was super drunk and didn’t know what I was saying. I honestly can’t remember what I said to have offended you, but I promise I didn’t mean it.” He said sheepishly.

Her eyebrows furrowed. What was he talking about. Offending her? He hadn’t offended her. She’d left because-

Her eyes widened.

_ Ohhhh… _

She shook her head. “No it’s not like that. You didn’t offend me at all, I left for uh, personal reasons.”

She watched the man smile at this. “Oh good. I was worried I’d messed up somehow.”

“Nope, It was just poor timing.”

“Oh good. Glad to hear it.”

“Yup.”

“...”  
“...”

Eighteen blinked, trying to contain her own annoyance at herself. 

_ I’m absolutely blowing this! What the hell is the matter with me!? _

She’d come here  _ specifically  _ to speak to Gohan. Not because she liked him, not even because he was strong or she was beginning to notice  _ smart _ . She’d come here because it was a place to go. She’d come here because it had felt familiar, if at least somewhat because even if Gohan was a man she’d spent most of her life trying to kill, he was still a face she knew second most in her life preceded by only Seventeen, and followed by no one. Eighteen didn’t know a lot of people, there weren’t a lot of people she’d wanted to know. Gohan was one of them only due to his stubbornness, and now he was the person she had to turn to. She didn’t know if there was another person she could actually go to for any type of direction, he was the one who’d started her on this journey, who’d given her the answer she’d needed to proceed with what was becoming the rest of her life. He’d been her answer once, when she’d been lost and not known what to do.

Now she was even more lost than the last time. She didn’t know what she wanted to do, what she wanted to be. She had all this power, and had no where to direct it. She was used to being able to channel it through destructive, and murderous desires. It was all she knew, it was a large part of her identity.

She didn’t know who she was if she took that part away. 

But she did know that Gohan had power like her own, and had found a way to use it for means that were not destructive in nature. If she could learn how to do that, learn how to feel powerful and strong without destroying,  _ maybe  _ she had a chance at convincing her brother.

_ Who knows anymore? I certainly don’t. _

The two remained awkwardly quiet as they stood there, not sure what to say, not sure what to do.

Finally it was Gohan to break the silence. “Welp, I’m gonna go in. It was nice running into you again.”

“Uh, oh right. It was nice to see you again too.” She smiled before performing an awkward wave. She watched as he returned it before stepping past her and towards his building. She watched him as he went, her eyes filling with panic. She needed to do something,  _ anything _ to get him to stop. She needed his solution, she needed his answer, and he was  _ slipping away _ .

“Uh, hey Gohan?” She asked timidly, not sure what she planned to say next.

The man paused to turn around, looking over his shoulder at her with a set of raised eyebrows. “Hm?”

Eighteen’s mouth was slack jawed as she desperately searched her mind for something to say, for something that she could use to somehow obtain the answer she was looking for. Her mind played through the events of last night, the drinking, the conversation, the-

Her eyes widened.

She had it.

“You told me the other night that you were willing to teach me how to fly.” She felt her confidence returning, a devious grin pulling at the corner of her mouth again as she rested a hand on her hip. “Now, was that just drunk you talking, or were you being serious when you said you’d show me.”

She watched as the man adopted a surprised expression. It was clear to her that he hadn’t remembered the passing comment either until this very moment. She watched him as he frowned, clearly mulling over the offer before smiling.

Eighteen breathed a sigh of relief, she’d  **done it** .

“Sure, I don’t mind. I’m actually going to be training a student of mine in a couple of days. You could sit in with us if you want to.”

Eighteen nodded vigorously, she wanted that more than anything, more time to try and figure out this massive mess she was in.

He grinned. “Alrighty then. How about we meet out here two days time say...ten o'clock?”

She nodded again. “Sounds good. I’ll be here.” It wasn’t like she had a job to get to. She had all the time in the world.

“Alrighty then, I’ll see you then Videl.” He performed a modest wave before turning his back to her and continuing towards the doors.

Eighteen waved back quietly. She waited until he was in his building before she slumped against the bench completely  _ exhausted _ .

She brought a hand to the side of her head, holding it as if the top of her skull was going to fall off.

_ What the hell did I just agree to!? _

  
  
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New threats make themselves known as Eighteen begins her lessons in 'flight school' with Gohan and Trunks as her new teachers.

  
  


Kuda was a muscular man.

He had been for the last decade or so, much to his wife, Coco’s, delight. She’d been more than appreciative of his unexpected bulk when they’d noticed it in bed a year after their unexpected move to the cabin.  
It hadn’t been a planned move, far from it in fact as roughly fourteen years ago they’d been planning to sell the property after Kuda had inherited it from his great grandfather passing away after a long battle with cancer. At the time they’d both been city folk with little to zero interest in the outdoors whatsoever, in fact, it had been one of many common disinterests that had made them fall in love in the first place.   
But then, the Androids happened.

They attacked city after city, town after town, it didn’t take Kuda long to realize that the twins were explicitly striking well populated areas. The young man soon realized how limited his options were especially with Coco being pregnant at the time. He’d feared that his wife wouldn’t agree, but much to his surprise, she’d been on board immediately, recognizing the threat, and understanding that their survival as well as their baby’s survival depended on them moving. She agreed that it would be a temporary home until this ‘Androids’ fiasco blew over much like King Piccolo and the mysterious aliens that wiped out that one city had.  
It was part of the reason he loved her. She was always rational, always thinking of the bigger picture.   
She could see it as well as he could.

Suddenly that dry, old, decrepit, run down cabin in the woods was more than just a potential fire hazard.  
It was their safe Haven. 

And it was  _ perfectly  _ placed as well. So deep in the woods that it would be impossible to find without a map, compass, supplies for a three day journey, and  _ luck _ .

Or, at least, so he thought.  
The bulk of Kuda’s muscle mass had occurred while renovating what would soon become their new home. It’d been tough work to make sure that the place was safe for raising a child. He’d only just finished by the time Coco had given birth to a beautiful baby girl they’d decided to name Reta. Kuda had never felt prouder, never felt happier before in his life than when he’d held his child in his arms for the very first time. The happiness he felt in that moment would only ever be rivaled by the arrival of his son, Cray, born two years later.

A over a decade passed with Kuda and Coco doing their best to teach their children what they would need to know both educationally, and to survive in the wilderness that was now their home. They made mistakes, struggled at times, and fought on the rare occasion. But in the end, they were happy with their lives. Soon, Kuda and Coco forgot about the Androids, forgot about going back to the life they once lived, and slowly forgot that at one point in their lives the mere mention of an outdoor activity would result in an immediate recoil.  
Kuda loved his family, he would for as long as he lived.

But now...

Now there was a gun in his hand. It was some type of revolver but right now he couldn’t be bothered to remember the make and model. His hands were trembling, the barrel ever so faintly smoking from a very recent shot. His ears were still ringing from it’s explosive boom.   
He was sitting with his back leaned up against a cold, metallic wall. From his eyes poured thin rivers coursing their way down each cheek. Coco was sitting beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder in a peaceful fashion. Her eyes were closed as if she’d merely fallen asleep beside him like she’d done so many times before. It was not uncommon for Coco to fall asleep with Kuda as her own personal pillow. She’d told him many a time that he was her favorite pillow on the bed.

Kuda couldn’t help but whimper as he felt Coco lean against him. He had one arm wrapped around her, quivering as he watched her rest.

He flinched as his eyes trailed over the bullet hole in her forehead. 

He averted his gaze, turning his eyes towards the locked door sitting roughly ten feet away.

Kuda shuddered as he watched the ten inch thick metal door begin to  _ fold  _ before him, crumpling down like a sheet of paper.

Of course  _ he’d  _ been the one to shoot her, he’d  _ had  _ to. He’d pulled her in close, hugged her, knowing that it would be the last time, kissed her for what would be the last time, and told her that he loved her with all of his heart, for the last time. He’d waited only long enough to hear her say it back, hear her sweet, wonderful voice, the voice that woke him up every day, that yelled out at him while he was working that food was ready; he’d needed to hear her tell him that she loved him. He’d needed to  _ know  _ it, to feel its warmth, to bask in it’s wonderful glow just  _ one last time _ , before he pulled the trigger.

He couldn’t have done it before, he wouldn’t have been strong enough to.

Kuda let out a deep, powerful, emotional roar of emotion, leaning forward as he held coco’s lifeless hand with his free one. Just these few, short moments of knowing that she was  _ gone  _ were absolute agony.

It’d been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do in his life.

But he’d  _ had  _ to, he couldn’t let that  _ thing _ tearing down the door get to her. He’d seen what it could do, he’d seen what it’d already done _ . _

_ -Five Minutes Earlier- _

  
  


Reta and Cray had been hanging up laundry when it started. Kuda had been bugging his wife, teasing her from behind as they cherished this time alone within the small cabin. He’d been running kisses down her neck when they’d heard the scream.

Then they heard gunshots.

Weeks ago they’d debated on whether or not it would be safe to have Reta carry a small firearm on her considering she’d only being thirteen, but they’d quickly decided it would be safer for the two children as long as the girl was extra responsible and  _ trained  _ to use it right. They’d had several run ins with the local wildlife, some too close for comfort.

Kuda would regret making that call.

Kuda and Coco had been at the door an instant later just as they heard Reta’s voice scream at  _ something  _ to ‘let him go!’. Immediately Kuda assumed it was a creature too large for small firearms to put down or scare off. Reta was a good shot and would not hesitate to put a hostile coyote down in a couple shots.

Kuda paused for only long enough to look over his shoulder and order Coco to grab the hunting rifle kept locked away in their bedroom. Kuda watched her panicked expression stiffen as she immediately turned heel and dashed towards the door moving faster than he’d ever seen her go. She was a trooper, through and through. 

Kuda loved her for that.

The man slammed the wood door open as he rushed towards where he’d heard the screams. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to do much if this really was a bear, but at least he’d be able to stall long enough for his wife to get back with the gun. He listened as yet another shot rang out and his son’s screams became weaker, almost like he was  _ drowning _ . 

Then he saw  _ it _ .

And he froze. 

He’d expected a large dog or maybe a cougar even, something he’d fought and scared off before. But  _ this _ ? He couldn’t even begin to fathom what the hell  _ this  _ thing could be.

It was  _ hideous  _ in every way.

It had the general  _ shape  _ of a man, but with a hard green  _ shell  _ coating it’s arms and legs almost like  _ armor _ . It was hunched over, leaning over something that Kuda couldn’t quite make out, but he quickly deduced that if this  _ monster  _ were to stand at its full height it would likely tower over any bear Kuda had come across before. It’s limbs were long and thin, like a malnourished deformed  _ insect  _ that had learned to look like a man. 

The next thing Kuda noticed was its  _ tail _ . It had a long, slender tail that had flipped over its shoulder, aimed at whatever it was hunched over. Kuda could hear a terrible, blood curdling  _ slurping  _ sound enlaced with the sounds of his daughter’s screams and what sounded like his son’s  _ dying breaths _ .

Immediately, Kuda snapped out of his fear as he heard the noises. Without another moment of hesitation he charged the creature, throwing everything he had into tackling it away from whatever it was hunching over, which Kuda was quickly realizing was his  _ son _ .

He slammed into the monster shoulder first,  _ roaring  _ with the  _ furious rage  _ of a father desperately trying to save their child.

It felt like he’d just charged a brick wall.

Kuda cursed as he felt his shoulder dislocate. The pain was blinding, a flash of hot stinging sensations originating from his shoulder. The man fell back as he processed the pain. Now on the ground, he could see that the monster hadn’t moved at all, hadn’t even shifted as the  _ slurping  _ sound continued before petering out sounding like when you finished a drink a soda with a straw.

Kuda could now see what the slurping sound had been.

Laying in a pile at the creature’s feet was a set a clothes.

_ Cray’s  _ pile of clothes. 

He could see the end of the tail now, a sharp, pointed end that had embedded itself where his  _ son  _ had once been.

Kuda began to tremble as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. His son, the boy he’d raised with pride in his heart for eleven unforgettable years...was gone? His son? **_His _****son**? No, it couldn’t be, this had to be some type of mistake, there was no way that-

Kuda froze.

Reta was still standing there, gun raised in her trembling hands, tears pouring out in torrents down her cheeks. Kuda watched in horror as her face contorted into a stubborn, unyielding  _ rage _ as she quickly raised the gun to the monster’s temple and clicked back the hammer.

Reta had always been a fighter, always been stubborn. She’d always been the hardest to put to bed when she’d been younger and the hardest to convince otherwise when she thought she was right. She was a strong, proud young woman and a daughter Kuda had always been proud of despite butting heads on occasion. 

He watched as she pressed the barrel of the gun to the monster’s head, snarling with a viciousness that Kuda had never seen before, and pulled the trigger.

An explosion echoed out as the bullet attempted to piece the creatures bizarrely shaped head. Kuda watched with anticipation as the monster stiffened, seemingly affected from the shot. Kuda internally prayed that the bullet had worked, that this creature was finally going to slump over dead.

Instead he watched as the creature slowly turned his head towards Reta, a small dent in its head where the bullet had impacted, a dark glare in its eyes.

“ _ Well, aren’t you certainly brave _ .” It said in a sickly, raspy voice. Kuda was quivering now. It could  _ speak _ ?

There was another bang, and then another as he watched Reta’s thin arms push against the recoil of the weapon. He could see it in her eyes, that stubborn, hot flame, unyielding, unfolding, beginning to fall away in the face of a true, honest, childlike  _ terror _ . Despite how she carried herself, despite always willing to go toe to toe with anyone and anything, Reta was still a little girl, only barely Thirteen.

The gun clicked.

Empty.

“ ** _No!_ ** ” Was all Kuda could scream as he watched the tail raise yet again, this time aimed for his daughter.

Kuda raced forward, grabbing the tail with his one good arm and pulling back with all he could.

“ ** _Run!_ ** ” Was the only word he could roar as he used every muscle in his body to try to resist the pull of its tail.

He watched as Reta turned immediately to shoot towards the house. She was a healthy girl, a fast girl.

But not fast enough.

Kuda felt the tail rip away from him like a bullet tearing through tissue paper. He heard Reta’s terrified, pain stricken  _ scream  _ shortly followed by that  _ slurping  _ sound.

_Not Reta! Not my baby girl!__  
_ Kuda raced forward, seeing the sharp end of the tail embed several inches into his little girl’s back. She’d collapsed to the ground upon being struck, he raced to her side as he saw her struggling to push herself up, to get back to her feet so that she might run away from this horrid fate.

He fell to his knees beside her, slamming a hand into his shoulder as he  _ forced  _ the joint back in place. The pain was excruciating, but he hadn’t even flinched as both hands wrapped around the end of the tail and he began to desperately pull up.

“Daddy! Daddy please help me!”

Kuda wanted nothing more than to do just that.

“It’s okay baby! It’s gonna be okay!”

He pleaded, not sure if he was convincing himself or his daughter. No matter how hard he pulled, no matter how hard he strained, the tail  _ wasn’t coming out. _ He could hear the  _ slurping  _ sound as he pulled, the sound of Reta being sucked away as he saw large  _ clumps  _ begin to work their way up the tail and into this vile creature.

Then she started screaming.

He could see her torso begin to deflate, sinking into the ground like she was a deflated balloon. He watched as her eyes met his in a desperate plea for help as her internal organs were slowly sucked away.

He turned to face the monster and screamed in a hopeless despair, knowing that he wouldn’t have the strength to pull this tail out. “ ** _Please! Let her go! _ ** Take me! Take me instead! I’m bigger! Just give me my daughter-”

He watched as the  _ monster’s _ face contorted into what Kuda had to assumed was its best interpretation of a  _ smile. _

It’s lips parted, “ _ Oh, don’t you worry, you’ll be on my plate soon en-” _

** _Boom_ **

Kuda watched in surprise as one second, this hideous monster was talking to him, the next, half of its face had disappeared.

He watched as the creature fell back, screaming in agony as it’s tail ripped away from his daughter, holding what was left of his face with both hands. Slowly, it became still.

His ears still ringing, he turned his head back towards the cabin. Sitting on the grass holding her shoulder in a tight grimace was Coco. 

Kuda’s eyes widened as he saw what lay next to her in the grass.

She hadn’t brought out the sniper rifle.

She’d grabbed the  ** _anti-tank rifle_ ** .

It’d been their last resort, their final weapon if the Androids had ever happened upon their humble abode, well that and the small bunker surrounded by 10 inch thick steel they’d had installed years ago. The weapon was so big and bulky that Coco had never actually managed to lift the thing on her own before. Kuda had been the only one with any real training with it, and even then his training had been limited to what he could learn by himself. Kuda had no idea how she’d managed to grab it herself and race back so quickly.

He watched as his wife pushed herself to her feet, clutching her injured shoulder where the weapon had bucked back into her. “Don’t you dare touch my children again you ** fuck** !”

Kuda quickly scooped up his daughter into his arms. He looked down at her with a concerned gaze. She still looked partially deflated, blood and chunks of red _mush _was dribbling out of the puncture wound in her back. He pushed his hand there, trying to keep what remained of his daughter inside. He could feel her body trembling, going into shock after what her internal organs had just gone through. Looking down at her, at the pain in her eyes, the low moans and cries of sorrow, Kuda couldn’t tell if his young daughter could still be saved. She hadn’t just been stabbed...she’d had parts _removed _that could be replaced, couldn’t be restored, especially not out here miles away from the nearest hospital.  
Kuda began to cry as Coco drew near. He could hear the slow, pained raspy breaths from his daughter grow further and further apart as she struggled defiantly against the cold grips of death.

Reta was a fighter, she always had been, and she always would be until her very last breath. Kuda watched as her hand tightened around his, and he whispered to her that he loved her, and that he’d never been more proud of her as his daughter. Coco was beside them now. He could see it in her face that she was coming to the same conclusion that he had. Tears were slowly trailing down her cheeks as she gently stroked her daughter’s head, before leaning in and placing a kiss on the girl’s forehead. 

“We love you.”  
Kuda felt her hand slowly release his as she finally stopped fighting, and let go.

Kuda couldn’t stand anymore as he slowly lowered himself to the ground. He set down the lifeless form of his daughter as his wife sat down next to him.

“P-please, w-where is Cray?”

He looked up to meet her gaze. 

She didn’t know yet. Kuda didn’t have the words, his voice felt like it was stuck in his chest. He slowly turned his head until his eyes were resting on the pile of clothes next to the vile  _ abomination  _ still on the ground.

He heard a shaky gasp next to him as Coco understood.

She tried to scramble to her feet, to rush to the lump of clothes which had at one point contained their son, but Kuda grabbed her hand before she could and pulled her back to him. She tried to fight him at first, as if she could somehow revive their son if she could just get to him, but Kuda knew that she couldn’t.

She knew that she couldn’t.

She fell back, as Kuda wrapped himself around her. The two couldn’t speak, What could they say? No string of words could possibly come close to describing the loss of what had been their entire lives. 

Reta and Cray, their two children, were dead.

The two clung to each other tightly and cried.

Until  _ it  _ woke up.

  
  


And now the two of them were sitting inside their bunker, Coco dead in his lap. They’d fought it of course. They’d fired every last round into that creature to try to keep it down, but it just kept getting back up. Eventually the two of them retreated here. They’d felt safe, they had food and water prepared to last them weeks if it came to that, they were  **safe** .

Until the door started to wane and creek,  _ folding  _ to the monster’s will. 

Kuda felt numb as he slowly opened the revolver and looked at the last of the bullets he’d loaded.

There were two left in the revolver, but he only needed one.

The door was down now, the creature was lowering its head so that it could properly step into the small space. He could see its eyes on him, trained on him like a predator staring down prey.

_ Well, enjoy your meal. I hope you choke on the bullet. _

He thought as he slowly raised the barrel of the gun to his temple. He knew what fate his corpse and his wife would share, but at least they wouldn’t have to experience it like his daughter had, like his son had.

He grimaced. He hadn’t been able to protect his children. He’d  _ failed  _ as their father.

He looked over the creature’s shoulder towards where he could see through a window out into the open, beautiful blue sky. He remembered Coco commenting on how nice out it had been before the two children had ran out to do the laundry.

Kuda somehow found the strength to smile as he watched a cloud slowly drift by.

If he was going to die, he wanted to at least have the last thing he see be something pleasant, something that could make him happy, and not this representation of horror incarnate before him.

_ I’ll see you all soon. Coco, I hope you can forgive me. _

He closed his eyes, picturing his family before pulling the trigger.

And it clicked.

His eyes snapped open. He could see the  _ hellspawn’s  _ face inches away from his own now.

Its hand preventing the hammer on the gun from going down.

_ He stopped it? How? It had been across the room just a moment ago! And  _ ** _why _ ** _ did it stop it!? _

Why? Why would it stop him from shooting him? He was going to consume him either way, why deny this act? Why go through the trouble?  
“_I know you’re asking _**_why _**_right now.” _He watched in horror as the monster did it’s best interpretation of a smile. “_In all honesty, I just like it when I get to hear the _**_screams_**_. I like to know that they are feeling every last moment of being _**_consumed_**_.”_

He felt the tail pierce through his torso.

And then everything felt like it was on  ** _fire_ ** .

Kuda let out a blood curdling scream as he felt his insides being sucked out of him. It was like no other pain he’d ever experienced. He tried to think of his family in his last moments, tried to think of the fact that he’d spared at least Coco from this fate, but the pain was too blinding for him to concentrate on any of that. All he could think about was how much it  ** _hurt_ ** . How much it felt like he was being violated in the worst way imaginable. It was like he was being sucked away from  _ himself _ .

Kuda died staring up at the monster who’d killed his family. He died in his last moments knowing true agony. 

He died without knowing why, or what, or  _ who  _ had caused it.

Kuda closed his eyes for the final time.   
  


_ -???- _

_ ...not strong enough… _

The creature with no name loomed over the corpse of the woman before plunging his tail into her torso as well. It wouldn’t inflate his power like the other had, but he was still  _ hungry  _ after having to reform so many times. 

The creature growled as he acknowledged the fact that a handful of  _ humans  _ had managed to fend him off for so long. 

He wasn’t  _ nearly  _ strong enough to enact his plan yet. 

He closed his eyes, using his senses to reach out for his next reasonably powerful  _ meal  _ to hunt. His sharp, cat-like eyes opened as he smiled. He’d found his next target.

_ I may not be strong enough  _ ** _now…_ **

He Looked over to the metal door he’d managed to fold over itself to get inside.

_ But I will be soon. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

_ -Eighteen, Two Days Later- _

She was standing in what had become her new room after what Seventeen had affectionately called the ‘ultimate slug bug incident’ had occurred. It was bare inside aside from the leftover belongings of the people who had lived here before them. It looked like it might have been an old lady’s room from the old fashioned bed and the  _ smell _ . It’d taken some time to get used to the smell, which meant she’d entered the room, exited the room, and came back with two cans of febreeze. 

The door was shut and locked as Eighteen stood before a body length mirror. She needed to pick out her outfit for today, and that meant wearing the wig and glasses along with it. She frowned at the glasses, tossing them over her shoulder. 

_ I could have picked up contacts at some point. _

It wasn’t  _ technically  _ a lie, she  _ was  _ wearing contacts, even if they were meant to change her eye color and not correct her vision. 

She’d chosen a simple attire for herself after going through her belongings and, despite having a  _ massive  _ library of clothing items, realized she had barely any workout clothes at  _ all _ . The revelation had puzzled her for some time before she realized that she hadn’t  _ needed  _ to work out for over a decade. She supposed that being an immortal almighty being with an unlimited pool of power would do that to a person.

She stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple white T-shirt as a top and some black spandex shorts paired with a set of sneakers she’d found in the back of her closet. It was all she  _ had  _ that seemed appropriate as a workout attire. She internally cursed herself for never expanding her knowledge on exercise fashion.

Her black hair was running freely down each of her shoulders. 

She frowned. It’s length was definitely going to get in the way of things if she tried to move about a lot. She did  _ not  _ want the wig falling off in the middle of…

Her eyebrows furrowed. 

What  _ would  _ training look like? She’d asked for Gohan to teach her how to  _ fly _ . How would he be able to do that if he thought she was just a normal girl? She had no idea how to explain  _ flying  _ to someone else. It was just something she could  _ will  _ herself to do, and her body responded. Would it eventually turn into a sink or swim situation? Would he lift her into the air for awhile and drop her after telling her everything she would need to know? 

_ Pfft, this is goody two shoes Gohan we’re talking about here. There’s no way he’d do that. _

…

Right?

She began to worry.

Eventually Eighteen had decided to tie her hair into a set of pigtails, standing in front of the mirror examining her new look.

_ Would a ‘Videl’ wear pigtails like this? _

She cupped her chin in thought as she studied herself in the mirror for a time.

“...Nah, that looks ridiculous.” She scoffed before pulling her hair out. She’d figure out a different style to keep the hair out of her face.

- _ Thirty Minutes Later- _

Eighteen gently floated down into an empty alleyway a few blocks away from Gohan’s apartment complex, she didn’t want to accidentally get caught already knowing how to fly after all. In the end she’d decided to tie her hair into a simple ponytail with a single defiant bang resting on her forehead and over her right eye. She kinda liked the way it bounced with each step she made as she strolled down the street. There weren’t too many people out and as she drew near to the bench she’d been sitting on only two days prior. 

She looked around, a frown resting on her lips as she did so. She didn’t see Gohan anywhere in sight.

Looking down at her watch she sighed.

_ Ten minutes early… _

Scowling, the woman plopped down on the bench behind, resting her chin in her palm as she waited. Over the past two days she’d made little progress towards convincing Seventeen of anything, mostly because she hadn’t wanted to talk to him without consulting an outside source first. She’d made herself scarce over those couple of days, avoiding Seventeen as much as she could without seeming suspicious. She didn’t want him bringing up the topic again when she didn’t have a concrete message to convince him prepared. 

She groaned, rubbing her palms into her eyes out of frustration. Why did Seventeen have to be so  _ difficult  _ sometimes? She swore if he wasn’t her little brother she doubted she would hang out with him at all. He was just so  _ annoying  _ at times.

“Long night?”

A smiled pulled at Eighteen’s lips.

_ About damn time. _

The woman lifted her head as she pulled her hands away from her face. She watched as Gohan and the boy Eighteen knew as ‘Trunks’ slowly descended before her, Gohan waving a friendly hand her direction. He was wearing his typical orange and blue fighting Gi while the boy seemed to be wearing some sweat pants and a black tank top. She noticed the boy’s eyes widened ever so slightly as their eyes met each others, like a flash of surprise...or…

_ Does he recognize me somehow?  _

She thought as she began to worry. She watched as the boy’s surprised expression eased into a smile. She internally breathed a sigh of relief, it didn’t look like he’d recognized her.

Eighteen rose to her feet, adopting a pleasant smile as they landed.

“Not at all, I’m just not a morning person.” That much was true.

She watched as Gohan rubbed the back of his neck, shooting her a sympathetic look. “Ah, I’m sorry about that. Did you at least eat a good breakfast?”

_ Nope. unless you count some of that fake hair that kept getting in my mouth when I was trying to get this damn wig into a ponytail. _

She smiled politely and nodded her head.

“Awesome! Then we should get a move on, it’s a long way to the-”

“ _ Ahem _ ,” Trunks cleared his throat loudly. 

Gohan raised an eye his direction. “What?”

“I think he’s telling you to introduce the two of us.” She added with a coy grin.

“Oh, right.” The man closed his eyes with an embarrassed smile. “Trunks, this is Videl, Videl, this is Trunks.”

The boy smiled brightly as he took a step forward, offering a hand to the woman. 

“Nice to meet you, I imagine that Gohan didn’t tell you anything about me.” 

Eighteen raised an eyebrow toward the boy. He was behaving rather... _ confident _ for some reason. She accepted the handshake.

“Not much. But I look forward to learning with you.” 

“Same, I never thought that Gohan would take on newcomers. It’s cool to see someone else-” He paused after letting go of her hand, his brow furrowing before his eyes focused on her, not necessarily staring  _ at  _ her, but more like  _ through  _ her.

Eighteen raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare intensely. “Uh...Everything okay there kid?”

She watched as the boy’s face relaxed, a surprised look about him. He looked over his shoulder to Gohan. “You’re right! I can’t sense  _ anything  _ from her!”

Gohan chuckled, “Yeah, it’s a little odd, but no big deal.”

Eighteen blinked.

The boy knew how to do it too?

“So...you can sense that life source stuff too huh?”

Trunks smiled with a swelling pride. “Gohan says I’m a fast learner.”

Eighteen found herself increasingly not liking this kid. He was just a little bit... _ smug. _

_ Of course I already didn’t like the kid… so just more fuel for the flames I guess. _

“Anyway,” Gohan said jumping into the conversation. “If introductions are out of the way, we should probably head out.”

Trunks nodded as he began to riffle through his pocket. Eventually, he pulled out a small capsule with a button positioned on the top.

Eighteen recognized the Capsule Corp logo on the side.

Raising an eyebrow, she took a step back.

There was a click as Trunks pressed down the button. The boy tossed it a dozen feet away before a cloud of pink exploded out from the capsule. 

“Ugh, mom!” Trunks complained, a slight pink in his cheeks. Eighteen heard some snickering from behind her prompting the woman to look over her shoulder. There she saw Gohan doing his best to contain his laughter but failing miserably at it.  
When the smoke cleared, there was a hot pink Jet Helicopter. At first Eighteen had been surprised, but then she realized that it made sense they had brought this. She ‘couldn’t’ fly, and they couldn’t train her to control energy anywhere near other people, meaning either one of them would have to _carry _her, which was off the table entirely, or they would need an alternative method of transport.

_ Speaking of ‘alternative’ means of transport... _

A grin pulled at the woman’s lips as she fought the urge to laugh. Written in bright purple paint along the side of the aircraft was the message: “ _ I hope you have a wonderful time training today with your new  _ ** _girly-friend, _ ** _ love mom!” _

_ Huh, so he told her about me...wonder what else they’ve talked about... _

Eighteen raised an eyebrow towards the young man who had lowered his gaze so low that his lavender hair began to fall in front of his face. Despite this Eighteen was still able to just barely see his cheeks, which were scarlet red.

With shoulders still trembling with laughter Gohan took a step towards the Jet helicopter. “Well! No time like the present!”

“...” 

Eighteen watched with an amused smile as the teen quietly climbed into the front of the aircraft. Eighteen frowned as she watched  _ Trunks  _ take the wheel instead of Gohan.

Understanding that she was expected to climb in back, Eighteen did so before asking. “Hey uh, quick question, why is the preteen driving?”  
“I’m fourteen actually.” Trunks grumbled under his breath, still clearly embarrassed by his mother’s message.

Eighteen ignored his statement as she turned her gaze towards Gohan. 

The man in orange smiled sheepishly as he raised his arm up. “Well, it’s kinda hard to drive any sort of vehicle with only one hand. Plus Trunks has been taught by the literal creator of this helicopter, so he’s probably the best pilot we got.”

“Bulma Briefs is my mom.” Trunks said with pride in his voice.

“Huh, neat.” Eighteen responded idly as she peered out the side of the helicopter having already known that information. ‘Briefs’ wasn’t exactly a common name afterall and she did have extensive knowledge on Bulma from her relation to Goku and Dr. Gero’s spy drones.

She didn’t notice the confused look Trunks shot Gohan, seemingly surprised the drop of his mother’s name hadn’t merited a reaction.

Her eyes were locked onto the rotors slowly beginning to spin. Of Course she was in no  _ real  _ danger if the kid accidentally drove the aircraft into the side of a building, but it would be hard for her to seem like a normal girl if she survived a helicopter crash without even a scrape on her to show for it. 

_ Better drive well kid. _

She internally worried as the helicopter began to lift off the ground. It didn’t take long until they were flying over the city, zooming at a pace that was painfully  _ slow  _ for the woman. Eighteen’s eyes soon pulled away from the window and locked onto the boy as he operated the machine with a surprising display of expertise. It certainly  _ seemed  _ like he had been taught how to fly by the creator of the craft, but that didn’t ease the  _ anxiety  _ that was slowly building in Eighteen’s gut. 

She did  _ not  _ like being a passenger in this helicopter. She didn’t like the idea of putting her faith in this  _ child’s _ piloting skills, in fact, she didn’t like having to put her faith in anyone if she could help it. It made her feel weak, like she was displaying a  _ need  _ for someone or something else, that  _ she  _ alone was not able to accomplish what needed to be done without another. She liked when she was in control of a situation, or at least mostly in control. Like in the bar with Gohan, she’d been in control of the situation more so than  _ he  _ had. She knew the truth, she knew more about him than he did her giving the woman a slight advantage in the situation as well as more control over where the conversation went.

But here?

Here she could do nothing to aid her situation. She was stuck in this metal lunchbox in the sky and there was nothing she could do but hope that Trunks didn’t mess it up. 

“You okay back there?” 

Eighteen blinked once before turning to see Gohan looking over at her with a raised eyebrow.

Recomposing herself, she responded. “Of course, why?”

He shrugged, “You just looked nervous is all. Are you afraid of heights?”

She thought about it. She was currently afraid of  _ this  _ height she supposed, or rather what would happen if they  _ dropped _ .

_ I’ll get found out right away… _

“I guess you could say it’s something like that.” 

Gohan frowned. “Well, I imagine that fear should go away when you start learning.”

“Yeah, let’s hope so.”

_ -Twenty Minutes Later, Eighteen- _

Eighteen had struggled to not rip the helicopter door off its hinges when the aircraft had finally landed. Stepping outside she raised her eyebrows as she took in the sight. There was nothing but dry, dusty desert going on for miles and miles. The woman couldn’t even see the vague shape of a city on the horizon.

They were out in the middle of  _ nowhere. _

Eighteen blinked as she suddenly came to a realization. She’d just allowed two males to take her alone out into the middle of nowhere in a helicopter that she could not operate herself. If she really were this ‘Videl’ girl she was pretending to be, she imagined it would be pretty easy for the two of them to overpower her if it came down to it. 

She shot a curious look towards Gohan. He hadn’t  _ seemed  _ like the type...but anything was possible.

_ Perhaps Mr. Goody Two Shoes isn’t as ‘good’ as I thought. _

She idly thought to herself, not actually thinking it at all possible.

She watched Gohan step out of the aircraft shortly after her before taking a deep breath in and smiling brightly. “Man is it a great day for training!”

Trunks stepped out behind him, pressing on a button that reverted the helicopter back into a capsule.

He pocketed it.

“So, what exactly are we going to do to teach the newbie?” Trunks walked up to Gohan with his arms crossed, doing his best to appear as if he were a co-instructor in the situation.

Gohan smirked at the boy. “Well,  _ you _ are going to get started on that super  _ fun  _ training I told you about the other day.”

She watched the teen’s face pale.

“W-what? But I thought we were going to teach uh, Videl was it?” 

She nodded.

“I thought we were gonna teach Videl how to fly today!”

Shaking his head, Gohan responded. “No,  _ I  _ am going to teach Videl how to fly.  _ You  _ are going to work on some Ki control exercises.” He paused before turning his gaze to where Eighteen was standing with her arms crossed. “Oh, By the way, Ki is the life energy that I told you let people use these abilities. I’ll teach you more about it later.”

Eighteen nodded again, an easy smile resting on her face. This was going well. If the brat was going to be away doing his own thing, then she would have more time to focus on orienting a conversation with Gohan towards her own problems.

She watched as the two bickered a short time longer, with Trunks complaining that he wasn’t going to get to teach someone to fly and Gohan eventually getting the boy to comply by telling him ‘You knew that  _ this  _ was my condition to keep training with me.’. Trunks had grown silent after that.

She watched the two disperse, with Gohan walking towards her and the teen grumpily flying off a far distance away from the two of them.

“So, ready to begin?” The man asked with a confident smile. 

“Sure, I’m ready.” she responded unfolding her arms. She was curious as to what the brat was going to be doing for him to have gone so far out, but she didn’t really care all that much.

“Awesome, so the first thing we’re going to have to teach you about is ‘Ki’. Ki is the energy within your body that can be brought out in both fantastic and terrible ways.”

Eighteen raised an eyebrow. This was a new concept to her. 

“Which means that it’s all the more important that if you do manage to learn how to control your energy, you be responsible with it. You’ve...already seen what can happen if someone with a lot of Ki decides to do something horrible with it.” He adopted a more serious expression.

Eighteen paused, what she did when she fired off lazers and flew was manipulating ‘ki’?

“Yeah...I guess so.” She muttered in response, surprised at the fact that she hadn’t known this about her own powers. She’d never explored into her or her brother’s abilities before. Why would she? She was an Android, of course she had super strength, could shoot lasers and fly. None of the files Dr. Gero had implanted into her system told her anything about  _ what  _ she was doing when she used her powers, she just sort of…knew how to do it.

_ Maybe I’ll actually get something out of this learning session. _

“So I just need to know that you don’t plan to turn around and somehow abuse these abilities if I teach you.” The man was staring into her with a very serious expression as he said this. She could tell that the way she responded to this request was important.

She swallowed. “I have no intention to use the powers you teach me to do anything bad.” Of course it’s not like she  _ could  _ use any powers he’d taught her to do anything bad if he didn’t manage to teach her anything she didn’t already know.

She internally snickered.

_ This is going to be a piece of cake. _

The smile returned to Gohan’s lips. “Great! Then let’s get started. The first and most important lesson to Ki control is knowing that it’s there.” 

She tilted her head to the side. “Uh, you want to try that sentence again?”

Gohan chuckled lightly before continuing. “Ki is an innate part of everything that is alive. It’s our life force, it’s what grows stronger as we grow stronger as people. It’s a reflection of a person’s power and will. Of course, even if we all have Ki within us, you don’t see the average joe down the street flying in the sky now do you?”

“Well, obviously.”

“And  _ that  _ is because figuring out how to manipulate your Ki is especially difficult. It’s something that you have to  _ sense _ , like awakening a 6th sense if you will. You can't watch someone fire a Ki blast as you would watch someone throw a rock and get an understanding on how to do that.”

Eighteen raised an eyebrow. He was making this stuff sound almost...complicated.

“So...what do I do then?” she motioned out with her hands in a shrug.

“Well, the way I learned was like this.” She watched as immediately his legs folded beneath him and he dropped to the ground, sitting indian style on the dirt. She raised an eyebrow as he motioned for her to join him.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“Meditation. A big part of finding your Ki is taking the time to actively search for it. Most people don’t and that’s why there’s not a lot of people with Ki control. There’s certainly other ways to do it, but I’ve personally found meditation to be the easiest way to find it. It Involves numbing your senses to the rest of the world, clearing your mind of all things and just focusing on your breathing. Once you get to that point, it’s actually really easy to reach out and feel you own Ki. It’s like with all the other senses pushed to the background, your Ki can finally present itself to you.”

Eighteen stood unblinking for a long time as she processed everything Gohan had just told her.

_ What am i getting into? _

She wanted to figure out a way to answer her question, wanted to figure out a means to get the information she needed. The only problem was the fact that there was no natural way to steer the conversation back that direction. She was quickly realizing the dynamic being established between the two of them. He, the teacher, and she, the student. She was  _ supposed  _ to be doing the majority of the listening while  _ he  _ did the majority of the  _ explaining _ .

_ Damn it. I didn’t think this one all the way through. _

She was trapped. She couldn’t leave without making them aware of the fact that she wasn’t the person she said she was. She couldn’t get a word in edgewise because Gohan was currently trying to teach her how to manipulate her  _ Ki  _ or whatever he called it. She was  **stuck ** doing whatever this  _ dweeb _ told her to do for the rest of the foreseeable day.

She paused for only a moment, realizing this before accepting her fate. She would hate it, she always hated when she was  _ told  _ what to do, but she would be compliant in the effort to at one point during the day pick Gohan’s mind for a fresh new answer to help her ever spiralling list of problems.

The woman sighed as she lowered herself into a sitting position, mirroring the man as she sat across from him.

“Everything okay?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

She forced a smile back at him. “Just fine, just don’t like dirt is all.” she lied.

Gohan nodded, she could see him considering something before dismissing it. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Anyway, are you ready to begin?”

She nodded, internally acknowledging that he’d mentioned a ‘next time’. 

_ Oh like hell there is going to be a next time. _

But instead of saying this, she said. “How long would you say it typically takes a person to uh...find their ‘ki’ as you put it.” She wanted to know how long she needed to fake struggle at it before she could show she’d ‘figured it out’.

She watched the man pause, considering the question before letting out a slow laugh. “Well, it kinda varies across the board. You could get it right away or you might not get it for weeks on end. My dad for example learned how to use his almost instantly. Apparently he saw someone else use a Ki blast and did it moments afterwards.” He chuckled shaking his head. “I’m not sure I believe that story to this day because for me and Trunks it was a little bit harder to learn. For us it took a little over a week each to finally figure it out and get a hold of it.”

_ Yeah,  _ ** _fuck that_ ** _ . _

There wasn’t a tissue paper’s chance in hell that she was going to wait a  _ full week  _ before she could move forward with these ‘lessons’. She needed these over so that she could just talk to Gohan freely about matters. She was hating her past self more and more for agreeing to this lesson.

She nodded, trying to appear nervous to hide her inner  _ rage  _ at the situation. “Well, I certainly have some work to do huh?”

Gohan smiled and nodded before closing his eyes and positioning his back in a manner that appeared far more relaxed. She watched the tension in his shoulders bleed away before he started to take slow, rhythmic breathes.

“The trick is focusing on your breathing. For me it sometimes sounds like the sound of the ocean tide coming in. The waves peacefully crashing down onto the wet sand before pulling away again, ebbing and flowing with the tide.”

Eighteen studied the man before her, the ease in his face, the pleasant half smile on his lips as he continued to take slow breaths in, then out. He looked so  _ calm _ in that moment. He looked so  _ peaceful _ . Eighteen thought back to all the times they’d interacted with each other, all the times they’d fought or exchanged words. She realized in all that time she’d never seen his face so  _ relaxed _ before. When they fought each other, their expressions were always so angry, so  _ dangerous  _ that she’d never really thought about how Gohan would look  _ outside  _ of that specific situation. She was so used to seeing ‘Blondie’ snarling and grimacing that seeing him like  _ this  _ was... _ different. _ There was no way that she could consider his facial features as ‘handsome’ or ‘attractive’, she hated the man to her very core. He’d fought she and her brother for  _ years _ , how could she not hate him? But as he looked now...she  _ supposed  _ he could look worse _ . _

She soon realized she’d just been sitting there staring at Gohan when she’d been  _ expected  _ to start trying to meditate.

_ ...no harm in trying I guess. _

The woman closed her eyes as she began to do what Gohan had told her, focusing on her breathing, letting all of her other senses fade into the background.

“When you think you might have it, cup your hands together as if your holding a ball, envision the energy you found being in your hands instead, imagine it moving down your arms and to your hands and if you’re successful, it’ll be there when you open your eyes.”

_ I’ll do this for an hour, max. Then I’ll  _ ** _miraculously _ ** _ figure it out and wrap up this  _ ** _stupid _ ** _ training exercise. _

- _ Forty Five Minutes Later- _

It had only taken fifteen minutes for the Android to get bored. Ten minutes more and she’d started to get antsy, twenty minutes later, she was downright  ** _pissed_ ** .

_ This is literally the most boring, stupid, asinine,  _ ** _waste _ ** _ of my time I’ve ever experienced. _

She briefly considered attacking the man before her. He was relaxed and definitely not expecting it. She could likely give him a fatal injury if she really tried and made use of this moment, just pull back an arm, get close and blast him with everything she could muster.

_ No Eighteen, we’re not doing that, then all of this would go to waste. _

She chided herself as she continued to sit still.

_ I only have fifteen more minutes before the hour is up and I can show that I figured it out, so I just have to wait until then-like hell am I waiting until then this is too damn  _ ** _boring!_ **

She began to make her hands tremble, tightening her face into something that resembled a grimace as she did her best to convey that she was  _ struggl _ ing to summon the power to her hands.

And then she felt it’s familiar glow, the warmth of her own radiant power within her palms.

She opened eyes, staring down at the ball of golden energy with wide eyes.

“um...Gohan?” She said quietly, doing her best to sound like a young woman experiencing something borderline magical for the first time. The man’s eyes opened.

“You did it!” Gohan exclaimed with a shocked expression, as if he hadn’t been expecting her to get the handle of it so fast.

_ He probably didn’t. _

She thought to herself with a smug enjoyment. Watching him be baffled by her, stunned and shocked by her abilities much like he’d been shocked back at the bar.

It was still a nice feeling.

The man jumped to his feet as a bright, prideful smile spread across his face. “Wow! I’ve never seen someone get the hang of it so  _ quick _ .”

Eighteen felt a sheepish smile pull at her lips. “I guess I’m just a natural?” 

The man ran his hand through his hair, blinking like someone who couldn’t believe their eyes. “Yeah you are. Man that’s incredible.”

Her smile brightened. “Thanks.” even if it was completely fake, for someone to  _ marvel  _ at her for something she’d done...there was something there that made her feel good about her accomplishment even if it was fake.

“How are you feeling?” He asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

“Huh? What do you mean?’

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze still focused on the ball of energy in her hands. “Well just don’t over exert yourself. I remember the first time I used my Ki I felt exhausted immediately after. The same went for Trunks the first time he figured it out.”

Eighteen blinked. She hadn’t thought of that.

She looked down at the sphere of energy occupying her hands. She could tell that Gohan was watching her too, he was seeing how long she could sustain the ball of energy.

For some reason, she wanted to go above and beyond. It wouldn’t be hard, and as long as she didn’t make herself seem  _ too  _ strong to start off with, then it shouldn’t matter.

Right?

Uncertain she asked. “Should I...stop then?”

She watched as an indecisive expression consumed his features. “...Only if you feel like you’re on the verge of collapse. Don’t overexert yourself. Using too much energy on your first try can be dangerous if you’re not careful.”

“Oh...okay.” 

She allowed the energy to sustain itself for half a minute longer, the entire time growing increasingly aware of just how excited Gohan appeared staring down at her ‘accomplishment’. 

It was...awkward to say the least. 

The man she and her brother had spent a decade and a half trying to kill, was grinning at her like a goofy idiot. 

She released the energy a moment later, letting herself fall back slightly as if the effort had exhausted her. Gohan lowered himself to a crouch beside her.

“How are you feeling?”

_ Is that concern I sense? _

What a strange emotion for the man who’d so many times before had attempted to outright  _ kill her _ , to be displaying towards her.

“Just a little tired is all,” She made her breaths a little heavier, emulating how she imagined a runner would sound after a light jog. “I think I’m fine.”

“That’s good, you should probably take it easy for the rest of the day, anymore and you’ll probably hurt yourself.” His smile was unwavering, almost infectious she found as she felt the corners of her own lips beginning to curve upward from just seeing it. She found herself smiling back at him for a moment, before she realized something.

She blinked, wait...what had he just said?

“Wait, you want me to...wait am I  _ not  _ going to start flying today!?” her eyes widened in distress, was that it!? Was  _ this  _ today’s class!?

The man chuckled shaking his head. “Trust me, you’ve accomplished something that some take months or even  _ years  _ to learn. I almost can’t believe it myself honestly. You sure you don’t have any experience in Ki control?” he joked with a smile.

Eighteen’s face fell as she heard his words. Shaking her head slowly in response, she came to a realization she hadn’t seen before.

She would have to come back,  _ again _ , in order to commit to her lie and ‘learn’ how to fly as she’d said she’d wanted to before. 

** _Fuck!_ **

She did  _ not  _ want to have to sit through  _ another  _ ridiculous hour long meditation session in order to convince this dumbass that she was learning this Ki control nonsense legitimately. 

She fought the urge to scream in frustration. This was supposed to be a special moment for her,or at least, for the  _ Videl  _ character she was pretending to be. She knew that any normal person would be  _ ecstatic  _ to have figured out how to summon their Ki for the first time, to have proper, tangible evidence that they would be able to do the things the oh so  _ incredible  _ ‘Golden Warrior’ could do. She needed to reflect that, she needed to appear  _ happy  _ that she was making ‘progress’ _ . _

She fought to return the smile to her face. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. You are the expert after all.” 

_ Yeah, and a moron. _

She internally scowled.

  
  


- _ Gohan- _

_ She’s an absolute  _ ** _natural_ ** _ . _

Gohan was blown away by Videl’s progress, he’d never seen someone achieve such a secure grasp on Ki so  _ quickly _ before. Even Trunks, who Gohan had already deemed a prodigy from how swiftly he gained a grasp on even the most complicated of techniques, still required a full week and a half of dedicated training to form even the most basic display of Ki control.

_ She’d figured it out in less than an  _ ** _hour_ ** .

He’d expected it to take the whole day before they’d even begun to see even a glimmer of Ki control from the woman. He’d expected  _ maybe  _ short sparks or flashes of energy from the woman like he’d seen from Trunks, not a full, uninterrupted  _ minute  _ of controlled, completely stable sphere of golden energy.

If Trunks was a prodigy, he didn’t know what to call Videl.

Despite his excitement, he couldn’t help but notice that she looked like she was almost...disappointed, as if she’d expected to be able to fly  _ today _ .

The woman rose to her feet, brushing the dust that had settled on her legs off as she sighed. “So, what now? If I’m done, does that mean we go back?”

Gohan raised an eyebrow as he watched her rise. She’d been breathing heavily before, but now she seemed completely fine, as if she hadn’t just completely drained herself manipulating her Ki for the very first time. For a moment, Gohan wondered if the woman would have been able to maintain the ball of Ki for even  _ longer  _ had he not told her to be careful.

_ You’re being silly Gohan, she’s brand new to this. There’s no way she would have been able to maintain her energy for much longer. _

Still…

“Um...well,” He began awkwardly as his gaze shifted towards direction Trunks was training. He could still feel the boy out there, training as he instructed. “Honestly? I expected this to take the rest of the day, so I’m not entirely sure what to do now.”

He watched as she shifted her weight to one side, a hand resting on her hip. “So what, we just stand around now?” He couldn’t help but get the feeling that she was  _ annoyed  _ with him for some reason. What was she expecting from him? Some kind of reward?

His eyes flashed wide.

“Uhh, no! Actually, there is something we do when a new student first gains control over their Ki.” He did his best to sound as if this was rehearsed, or at the very least  _ planned _ .

“We celebrate!” He grinned at her, waiting for a reaction.

He watched her shift her weight from one hip to the other, an eyebrow raised. It almost seemed like she was  _ more  _ upset with a celebration than nothing at all!

_ What does this woman want from me? _

Gohan began to panic.

“Doing what exactly?”

Gohan froze for a moment, only a moment, before relaxing himself again, hoping she hadn’t noticed the sudden stiffness in his shoulders and face.

_ -Eighteen- _

_ Why did his shoulders just tense up like that? And what the hell was the matter with his face? _

Eighteen’s internal scowl had been growing with immense progress for the last minute or so. It was obvious that he hadn’t planned anything for the rest of the day in the ‘unlikely’ chance she gained control of her ki on the first day. Watching him fumble with his words had only proven to better cement that realization.

_ This is going to be a total shit show. _

She felt the tension from the corner of her lips wanting to curve downward intensify.

“Well...” She watched him rub the back of his neck, his eyes darting away from her for a moment, his eyes looking out across the desert towards where she knew the boy was.

“With Trunks, it was pretty simple, we just went to an arcade afterwards and had a  _ lot  _ of pizza,” She watching him release a short chuckle reflecting on the memory. “Of Course that was for a young boy. I imagine that you probably wouldn’t like that.”

Eighteen blinked considering the option, it didn’t sound like an idea she would personally  _ dislike _ . Despite never participating with Seventeen whenever he would go to an arcade once they’d been cleared out of screaming people, that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy playing games over all. Earlier in their reign over the world Eighteen would often sit down and try some of the games her brother offered to teach her. She’d never get to play more than a few hours worth however, as soon enough  _ she  _ was beating  _ him _ . And, much to no-one's surprise, finding out that his sister was better than him did not sit well with Seventeen’s  _ rage _ . The moment Seventeen discovered that his sister had succeeded in beating him in any videogame of any variety, he would promptly destroy the game, leading to Eighteen never actually learning a game she enjoyed, and those she did, were often destroyed soon after. She’d given up on arcades and videogames altogether after that, since the only person she could play with at the time was Seventeen, it didn’t make sense for her to pursue the hobby any further.

Eighteen took a moment to consider what an arcade experience with someone who  _ wasn’t  _ her brother would look like, but decided against revealing this interest to Gohan. She was more curious what Gohan had decided would be a more appropriate way for  _ her  _ to celebrate.

_ Let’s see how well you think you know me Blondie. _

She watched his lips pull into a frown, clearly thinking as he cupped his chin with a hand.

Suddenly, his lips contorted into an expression she’d never seen the man wear before.

A shit eating grin.

“How does going to the Blue Dragon again sound? Drinks on me.” He proclaimed confidently.

Eighteen blinked, considering the idea.

_ ...Lucky guess… _

_ -One Week later- _

Eighteen sat at the edge of her bed as she pulled on the workout shoes she’d purchased the day before. Her outfit hadn’t changed by much, mostly because she didn’t need to change it by much. It wasn’t like the training was  _ hard  _ by any means, or like she could actually work up a sweat even if it was, meaning there was no danger of her white top going see through with sweat.

She paused as she finished tying the last shoe, staring down at the floor with a frown so subtle had you not been staring you would miss it.

_ What the hell am I even doing? _

It was a question she’d been asking herself over the last few days. She’d decided to slow her progress towards actual flight in an effort to not stand out  _ too  _ much, deciding that she would wait a day extra before making any major advances. Thankfully, she hadn’t been forced to meditate any more after day one, seeing as she’d already ‘discovered’ her Ki and didn’t need to find it again. This had lead to to Gohan actually  _ showing  _ her more about Ki, controlling it, manipulating it, learning how to direct it and push it to where she wanted it to be.

And much to her surprise, it had actually been... _ interesting. _

He’d shown her that Ki control was more than just firing a blast of energy at something. She’d actuatually been impressed when he’d pushed out a ball of energy before stopping it in place, willing it to move to his will in multiple directions. Hed brought it inches away from her, telling her to reach out and touch it. She’d been skeptical at first, convinced that if she listened, it would blow up in her face, but knew she had to comply simply because  _ Videl  _ wouldn’t know to question this action.  _ Videl _ didn’t have a single shred of experience with ‘Ki’ and energy besides what had been seen on the News. 

So she’d closed her eyes, reached out, and touched it. 

And to her surprise, it merely pushed against her skin, almost like a ball, like a water balloon filled with energy.

It had mistified her.

So not only was there a mystic, magical energy signature that people could sense, but you could move energy to your will too?

If that’s the case...how much more didn’t she know?

She scowled as she sat on the bed, her mind drifting back to the set of wrinkles and white hair that composed what had once been Dr. Gero. Though a brilliant scientist in his own right, a veteran fighter he was not. Sure, he’d done  _ extensive  _ research on traditional martial arts well documented throughout the world, and he’d even managed to figure out how to reproduce energy blasts via biomechanical means, but that didn’t mean he’d had a strong  _ understanding  _ on the nature of Ki itself. He’d downloaded into them a bare bones understanding of energy manipulation, the more obvious, combat oriented techniques like energy shields to wrap around themselves when in danger or how to fire a strong wave of energy at an opponent, but the more complex stuff? 

That was all new to her.

_ Am I out of my mind? _

The second question she’d been contemplating for some time now. She’d been given  _ multiple  _ opportunities to talk with Gohan, to steer the conversation towards the dilemma with her brother, to get an answer she so desperately needed to assure their survival.

And yet...she hadn’t.

For one reason or another, she’d either rationalized, excused, or flat out  _ forgotten  _ about her original goal in the pursuit to continue these lessons uninterrupted. Even when she’d spent time with the one armed wonder  _ outside  _ of training time, the subject never seemed important enough to bring up.

Her head fell, her face buried in her hands.

_ Why the hell did I accept to go out for drinks that second time? Why the hell am I currently dressing up in a ridiculous get up to go out and spend the day with that idiot  _ ** _again._ **

She fell back, her eyes studying the tiny bumps in the ceiling.

_ What is wrong with me? _

She  _ wanted  _ to hate the man. Every fiber of her being told her that she should, that she should view him as her mortal enemy which he technically  **was** considering all the times he’d attempted to kill her and vise versa.

She felt that she was  _ supposed  _ to hate him, she’d done so for so long, hated his guts, painted the perfect picture in her mind of her hand piercing his chest, watching the light fade from his eyes as he slowly went limp. So many times the very thought would bring her comfort. 

But now?

Now the image was harder to form, now it wasn’t ‘Blondie’ dying before her, it was  _ Gohan. _ The guy who invited her out to drinks, the guy who was hilariously socially awkward despite his many attempts to appear natural. 

The guy who looked at her like she was made of magic every time she would take another step towards mastering her Ki…

The guy who had that cute grin whenever he was about to tell one of his clever, often times silly jokes…

She sighed.

She didn’t hate him, couldn’t even. He wasn’t the self-righteous, pompous, asshole she’d been expecting him, no,  _ hoping  _ him to be. He was  ** _Blondie _ ** afterall, of course she’d assumed he had to be an asshole.

Instead what she’d gotten was a down to earth, semi-socially awkward, intelligent, and dare she admit it  _ charming  _ young man. 

She scowled for admitting that to herself. It still felt wrong to compliment him, even if it was just mentally.

_ But he wants me  _ ** _dead_ ** _ , isn’t that enough for me to hate him? _

It made sense to her, he wanted to kill her, wanted to destroy both herself and her brother. It wouldn’t make sense for her to actually  _ like  _ the guy...would it?

He wanted them dead. 

That meant that he was her enemy and that she should hate him, simple as that.

But at the same time…

_ Can I even blame him? _

Thinking about it, Eighteen realized that she couldn’t necessarily  _ blame  _ him for wanting herself and her brother dead. From what she’d learned of the man, he’d been raised since birth to save the Earth from world shattering figures without being taught that running was ever an option. 

They’d personally killed nearly every important figure in his life before the age of ten. 

They’d personally destroyed nearly all of humanity.

They’d personally tortured him and beat him to near death everytime they engaged each other in a fight.

Hell, they’d even  _ dismembered  _ him recently.

_ How could he  _ ** _not _ ** _ want us dead? _

All in all, how  _ could  _ she be mad at him? The most he’d ever managed to do to either of them was ruin a nice shirt or delay their play time for maybe twenty or thirty minutes. In contrast, they’d taken nearly  ** _everything _ ** from him save for his very life. 

Her lips curled into a frown.

Her mind went back to when she and Seventeen had been human. She recalled the times they would try and shop lift only to get caught by the security guards stationed there. They’d have to wrestle them to the ground and take the things they’d stolen back, but Eighteen had never  _ blamed  _ them for doing it. It was their job, just like a cashier’s job was to scan your items, or a mechanic’s job was to fix your car. If they didn’t try to catch her or her brother, then they wouldn’t be doing their jobs, they could lose their jobs.

How was Gohan any different from that?

He was the security guard and they were the shoplifters trying to ransack the shop.

She scoffed.  _ Well, we’ve done a little bit more than just  _ ** _ransack_ ** _ … _

But she felt the analogy still made sense.

Gohan was the only person around who could hope to challenge them. The only person able to physically stop them from destroying cities, ending lives, annihilating everything that he stood to protect. To him, this was his shop, this was his to protect because no one else could. He was doing a job, because if he didn’t...who would?

_ We’d keep destroying and destroying until all that's left to destroy is ourselves... _

Eighteen scowled as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

_ When the hell did I start  _ ** _sympathizing _ ** _ with the enemy, ugh. Even if I understand why he challenges us, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want us any less  _ ** _dead_ ** _ . _

She had to remind herself that.

Gohan wanted her dead.

It would do her good to remember that. That she was only  _ pretending  _ to be the girl who wanted to learn to fly. She was only  _ pretending  _ to be an innocent young woman who enjoyed drinks after training. She was only  _ pretending  _ that she genuinely enjoyed his company…

Because the  **real ** her was still a  **monster** .

_ Hell...I’m not even doing this because I find killing and destroying wrong. I’m only doing this because I have myself convinced that if I don’t figure out a way to stop Seventeen and I, we’re going to end up destroying ourselves. I don’t give two shits about those pathetic humans at the end of the day. _

She was doing this for selfish reasons, for herself, and no one else.

She smiled at that, the idea comforting to her. 

Suddenly, the wrist watch she’d purchased a couple days ago started beeping wildly. Her eyes bulged at the alarm as she abruptly scrambled off of her bead and started to stuff her wig into a small backpack she flung over one shoulder. The alarm meant that she was running late.

She quickly pulled out her phone, shooting a short text to Gohan that she was running late but was still coming as she pulled the door open and started down the hall.

Only to run head first into Seventeen.

“Agh! Hey!” He snapped staggering back as she did the same. “Watch where you’re going dumbass!”

Eighteen hardly paid him any mind as she stuffed the phone into her back and started to float down the stairs towards where she knew the kitchen to be. She needed to fill up a water bottle and put it in her bag, not because she would be getting thirsty later, but because ‘Videl’ would likely need water training in a literal  _ desert _ . 

“Hey!” Seventeen shouted after her, watching her with a furrowed brow as she made her way towards the kitchen. “Hey! I’m talking to you sis!”

Eighteen’s head whipped towards him, snarling as she snapped back. “What do you want dickhead!?” 

_ I don’t have time for this shit! _

She complained internally.

She watched as her brother’s face contorted into one of rage, obviously pissed, before softening as his eyes narrowed.

_ What is he looking at- _

Her eyes widened.

She realized what he was staring at before he even got the question out. 

“What the hell are you  _ wearing _ ?” He said raising an eyebrow her direction.

She took a moment to look down at her outfit, A white T-shirt, spandex shorts, and some jogging shoes. She knew her brother didn’t have much of a fashion sense given what he liked to wear around most days, but he’d lived with her literally his entire life and knew what she would normally wear.

This was  **definitely ** not it.

_ Fuck-Fuck-Fuck-Fuck-Fu _

Her mind scrambled to find an answer internally thanking herself that she had yet to put in her contacts, but also acknowledging that she’d already applied the foundation to mask her normally pale skin.

** _Fuck!_ **

She watched as he slowly descended the stairs, his face wearing a confused expression.

“Why do you look like you’re about to go on a jo-”

“I think I’m getting fat!” She suddenly blurted out, her head low her hair fell into her face in a desperate attempt to hide the makeup. It was a spotty excuse at best, an obvious lie at worst, but Eighteen couldn’t think of a better lie on the spot.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he froze, eyes wide, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“What?” His lips curled into an incredulous smile before he started to lightly chuckle. “But that’s ridiculous, you know we can’t get fat-”

“I’ve been eating a lot lately!” She once again blurted out. “Stress eating, uh, I’ve been really stressed trying to uh, figure out a way to explain what I meant to you.”

She pinched a bit of skin at her hip, trying to stretch it out to make a point, but finding very little purchase.

_ Damn my naturally perfect body! _

“I-I don’t know if I’m actually getting fat, but I’ve been, uh, exercising to try and make myself feel better.”

She watched out of the corner of her eye as his expression changed, shifting from jovial and light hearted to a suspicious glare, his brow furrowed slightly. He leaned against the wall still halfway down the staircase as his eyes burrowed into her.

“Is that right.” The cheerful tone in his voice had dropped entirely as he crossed his arms. 

Eighteen felt that if she had been physically capable of sweating, she would have been in that moment.

_ He knows something up. He knows I’m hiding something. _

She panicked.

“Yep, so I’m gonna head out now, seeya later.” She turned on her heel and started towards the front door completely forgetting about the water she’d planned to collect before.

_ I’ll just grab something on the flight over. _

She quickly decided as she reached the door.

It creaked open as she heard Seventeen’s voice call after her. “You know, I’ve noticed that you’ve been gone a lot lately...I’m guessing you’ve been ‘exercising’ a lot recently, huh?” the emphasis on ‘exercise’ that he meant it to mean something else. 

What he thought it meant she had no idea.

Eighteen paused at the door, but didn’t answer. There was nothing she could say.They both knew that he knew something was up, and nothing she could come up with was going to convince him otherwise. 

She could hear his footsteps slowly approaching her from behind. “You know, you never told me who filled your head with all that nonsense you were spouting the other day…”

Eighteen decided that was her que to leave.

She shot up and into the open sky, moving as fast as she could as she tore through the atmosphere going the opposite way of her destination. She didn’t think that Seventeen would actually chase her down, he  _ was  _ her brother after all, but that didn’t mean she was going to stick around for him to piece everything together.

Looking over her shoulder, she found that her assumption had been right, Seventeen wasn’t chasing her.

She breathed a short sigh of relief at that fact, realizing that she hadn’t been as certain that he wouldn’t chase her down as she’d thought.

_ He knows now that something is up. He suspicious of me now. _

Eighteen cursed herself for being so sloppy. He’d been in his room for the past week yelling at his screen for the game being ‘Cheap’ or ‘fucking stupid bullshit’ as he put it. 

She hadn’t actually thought she’d run into him in the hallway.

_ Stupid Eighteen Stupid! _

She scolded herself. 

She began to slowly turn, looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being followed as she started to make her way towards the meeting point by Gohan’s apartment.

She’d have to come up with a better excuse later. Something that would shake Seventeen’s suspicions before he started to  _ actually  _ follow her to her training sessions. She could just imagine how well that would go, him seeing her talking all chum like with the man he’d thought she’d finished off only a week ago.

She rubbed her forehead slowly as she realized how absolutely  _ fucked  _ she was. 

She felt heard her phone ping from inside her backpack. She fumbled with the zipper for only a moment before pulling the device out and reading Seventeen’s message.

‘ _ We need to talk later.’ _

Eighteen sighed, returning the device back to her bag.

_ Yeah, yeah we will. _

  
  


_ -Seventeen- _

  
  


_ She actually ran away from me… _

Part of him was stunned, another part of him was hurt, but the largest part of him, the part of him that he listened to most frequently, was  ** _angry_ ** .

His fingers curled into fists as he spun around and started to march up the stairs, his feet cracking the wood with each step.

He couldn’t remember the last time she’d kept a secret from him. He was her  _ brother _ , her  _ family _ , the one person in her life that would do anything for her. They shared  _ everything  _ with one and other, bar the inappropriate bits of their lives. He remembered the one time when they were younger her sharing about her time of the month and him running from the room, fingers in ears shouting ‘lalalala’. And it wasn’t like he was going to share his browsing history with his sister any time soon.

But those were frivolous things, unimportant things.

**This ** did  **not ** feel like that.

This felt like something much, much more important.

_ She was wearing makeup...why the hell was she wearing makeup? _

Seventeen knew that he wasn’t the most observant person around, but he knew what his sister looked like, and he knew that she was trying to darken her skin for...some reason.

_ Is it a guy? _

His brow furrowed as he turned down the hallway towards his room. It wasn’t like the two of them hadn’t had relationships before. Usually it didn’t stretch past the physical aspect of the relationship since they were both equally disgusted with humanity as a whole, but that didn’t mean they didn’t still have  _ needs _ . 

Seventeen snickered.

_ Funny how willing some people are to fuck  _ ** _monsters _ ** _ when they’re faced with that or certain death. _

They’d find someone, lure them into a false sense of security, do what they wanted and then wash their hands of it. Hell, Seventeen would even let his partners  _ live  _ most of the time afterwards, just as long as they didn’t come running up to him while he was destroying a city thinking they had some emotional pull on his heart. 

He scoffed at the idea.

It was something they took care of from time to time, and sure, they didn’t openly share that aspect of their lives with one another, but that didn’t mean they actively sought to hide it either. Eighteen had told him about guys before when he’d asked, and he’d never taken issue with it. 

It wasn’t like there was a man alive that could hurt his sister, so there wasn’t anything for him to worry about.

_ So why would she hide one now? _

It made no sense to him,why had she been wearing workout clothes and makeup? 

And why had she been disappearing throughout this whole week?

The Android paused once he reached his room, a finger scratching the side of his face. He couldn’t make any sense of it!

_ How can she not  _ ** _trust _ ** _ me!? I’ve  _ ** _never _ ** _ betrayed her trust! I’ve never went behind her back about  _ ** _anything!_ ** _ It’s not like I have anything to hide! We’re mass murderers! What the hell could she be doing that’s so bad she can’t share it with me!  _

He looked up, staring at his open window. As far as he was concerned, he was a good brother. Sure, maybe to the world he was a monster, but to his sister? He’d always strived to be a good brother to Eighteen. He’d even listened to her  _ stupid  _ ramblings a week ago! He’d agreed to  _ not  _ go out and destroy anything for two whole weeks just to make her feel better as she went through what he had to only assume was a dumb girly phase.

He blinked, realization dawning on him.

If she didn’t want to trust him anymore, if she didn’t want to listen to him or at least let him know what was going on, then he wouldn’t listen to her anymore either.

He started to pick up his clothes, looking for something suitable to make his grand reappearance. 

He wore a sinister grin as he began to get dressed. He was actually looking forward to annihilating a city, it would be a good way to let out a little stress since his sister was being such a  **bitch** .

_ Cherry on the top, It’s not like I’m going to be having any interruptions now that Mr. one-arm is gone. _

Seventeen laughed to himself as he stepped out from his window and took to the air.

_ It’s time to have some  _ ** _fun_ ** !

  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As many of you noticed there was a small time skip in this chapter. I do plan to have time skips from time to time depending on if it’s necessary for progressing the story at a reliable pace. I didn’t want you all to have to wait 2 more chapters of Eighteen pretending to learn how to control her Ki before the story moved forward. I want each chapter to actually progress the story forward narratively, for things to actually happen and not to fall into this weird trap that often befalls stories that center around Gohan.
> 
> Something I notice with dbz fics (ESPECIALLY Videl x Gohan fics) is that there will be like, 4-5 chapters in a row that barely move the plot along for the sake of writing out empty scenes between characters that we’ve all read time and time again. I mean, how many times have you read through the over-done formula of ‘Gohan lets something slip about his true identity and Videl picks up on it’ routine.’ or the classic ‘Gohan tries to do something that a normal person would do but overdoes it GASP’ (typically followed by Videl or another love interest noticing and thinking it weird as Gohan tries to explain it away)  
I really don’t want to do that here and waste my time redoing scenes over and over again that you’ve all already read over and over again. That’s why I didn’t write out the scene where Eighteen and Gohan go out for drinks since you’ve all already saw that. 
> 
> Also to those of you who thought it unrealistic that Cell was actually harmed by a man made gun, may I remind you that the cell we’ve come to know in the series waited until Trunks was Sixteen (Current Trunks is fourteen) before he made any move on the time machine, and even then he still needed to consume a few more cities in the main timeline before he was ready to fight Kami-infused-Piccolo(who was arguable as strong as Seventeen at the time) who he fled from by the way.
> 
> Cell in at this time is a far, far weaker version of himself, but I assure you that he will be playing a prevalent role in the story, what his role will be?   
Well you’ll just have to find out now wont you? I just wanted to show that Cell is around in this timeline, biding his time, slowly getting stronger as he does his best to avoid both the Androids and Gohan considering how easily they would be able to destroy him at this point.  
It was also interesting to depit Cell in such a sinister light for once. I feel like some fans of the dragonball universe forget just how much of a monster Cell truly is since we always get to see his impact on the world through Goku and the gang’s filter, which I feel trivializes it to a degree. This was what I Imagined Cell would seem like to your every day, average joe.
> 
> Anyway, this AN is getting rather long so I’ll cut it off here. If you enjoyed or even if you didn’t please drop a and tell comment me what you thought of the chapter! Comments are genuinely what motivate me to continue writing the story. Support is just that support, and considering I’m doing all of this writing for a total of 0 dollars, it feels good to know that you guys are appreciating it. :)
> 
> Until next time!


	9. Confliction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Android Eighteen continues to 'struggle' with learning how to fly, leading to Gohan switching tactics as the group continues their training. Meanwhile, Seventeen prepares for his day of 'fun'.

_ -Eighteen- _

_ What am I going to do? What am I going to say? Is there even anything I  _ ** _can _ ** _ say at this point? I  _ ** _ran away _ ** _ from my own  _ ** _brother_ ** _ ! He probably hates me now!  _

“Videl?”  
_I mean I can’t really blame him can I? He’s always been honest with me, always trusted me with everything, and now he comes to find out that I’ve turned against him and stabbed him in the back!? How can I be such an awful sister?_

“Videl, can you hear me?”

_I can only imagine what he’s thinking right now, how hurt he is. He’s been the one person I’ve always been able to lean on, the one person I always knew was in my corner ready to back me up if something went wrong...and this is how I repay him?__  
_ “Videl are you okay?”

Eighteen jumped as she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Blinking, she looked up to meet Gohan’s eyes, a single eyebrow raised in a confused expression.  
“Huh?” She responded dumbly. 

Gohan shot her a sympathetic smile. “Your mind’s on something else. Is everything alright?”

_ No, not even a little bit. My world is turning upside down and I have to pretend it’s all peachy. _

Trunks was off focusing on his own training which appeared to consist of him firing off a barrage of Ki blasts into the air before willing them back down and attempting to knock them away as he stood in place. Something about ‘Ki control and resistance training’.  
It was an interesting exercise to say the least.

She tried to force a smile that didn’t make it to her eyes. “Yeah, everything is fine, why do you ask?”

Gohan’s eyebrows raised in a way that said,  _ you’re not fooling anyone _ .

Eighteen sighed, her gaze falling, the smile dropping from her face. “It’s...it’s family problems.”  
“Do you want to talk about it?”

Eighteen looked up, meeting the man’s gaze again. There was honesty behind those eyes, a true, sympathetic look that told Eighteen that his offer wasn’t just an empty gesture, but a sincere expression of concern.

She could tell that in that moment, he actually _cared _about her issue, and he wanted to help.  
Eighteen felt a small, involuntary smile pull at her lips. She found herself actually considering it, telling him then about Seventeen and what had happened in a way that wouldn’t reveal who she truly was. Maybe...maybe he really could offer her some words of advice, or maybe a way to mend things between her brother and she.   
She felt like confiding in him in that moment, like she could drop her guard and just...let it all go.

_ What the hell are you  _ ** _doing_ ** _ ! _

Eighteen suddenly snapped at herself, taking a step back and pulling her shoulder from Gohan’s grip. Her gaze dropped, pulling away from the man’s eyes.

_He’s the entire reason you’re in this mess moron! Get your head in the game. We’re not here to make friends with him, we’re here for one question and one question only. Stop pretending like he actually cares about you because he _**_doesn’t_**_. He cares about the person you’re _**_pretending _**_to be, not the _**_real _**_you! He cares about ‘Videl’! He _**_hates _**_the real you!__  
_ Eighteen swallowed as she reminded herself of this. 

She shook her head gently. “That’s okay. I’d rather not if that’s alright.”

“Ofcourse, right sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep.”She slowly pulled her gaze from the dirt and watched as Gohan flustered, clearly thinking that he’d crossed a line. 

She frowned. She didn’t want him to think  _ that _ .

_ It’s not his fault I’m a lying sack of shit… _

She opened her mouth to try and tell him that he shouldn’t be sorry but before she could, he spoke. “So, do you feel ready to move onto the next step?”

Eighteen paused a moment, caught between returning to the topic and simply moving on. 

The look in Gohan’s eyes told her that it might be better to just move on.

She smiled and nodded.

_ -Gohan- _

_ Keep it professional Gohan. She just wants to learn to fly, you’re not her therapist, you’re her trainer. _

Gohan told himself this as he prepared to teach her the next step to flight.  
“So, have you been practicing summoning your ki?”  
With a nod she produced a simple ball of Ki between her two palms. Gohan was still impressed with just how _easily _she seemed to be able to do it. There was zero struggle, no grunt or strain at all, it was impressive to say the least.

“Good!” He exclaimed with a smile. “Now, how have you been doing with channeling it, pushing it to different parts of your body, hands,feet  Et cetera ?”

He watched as she slowly began to transfer the energy to her palms, reinforcing them like he’d taught her.

_ Excellent! _

“Alright, now, how have you been doing with moving your Ki, pushing, pulling, and keeping control.”

He watched a look of worry spread across her features.

He laughed. “It’s alright, relax, lets just see what you can do.”

She hesitated a moment before stretching out her hands and producing a ball of energy as she’d done before. This time however, she pushed the ball of energy to move forward, her eyes narrowed in a deep concentration as it slowly began to drift away from her.

Gohan carried a smile as he watched her, seeing the focus in her eyes as she moved the ball further and further away. Despite being a natural in the other methods of Ki control, for some reason  _ this  _ exercise had been the trickiest one for her. 

He wondered why.

“...why...do I have to learn...this?” She asked, clearly straining herself to manipulate the energy. He watched as she started to slowly pull the energy back, willing it back towards her like he’d taught her.

“Well, that’s the core fundamental to flying actually, although it’s a bit simpler than this is.” He said with a coy smile, taking a finger and poking the ball of energy. He watched as Videl’s eyes grew wide, panicking as she lost control and the ball of energy spiraled away before creating a small dust cloud on the ground.  
“Hey!” She shouted with a scowl. “What was that!?”

“A test.” He responded simply, enjoying the annoyed look she was giving him. “You see, when you’re up in the sky.” The man began to slowly float into the air. “There’s a bunch of things that you have to account for, wind, weather,  _ geese _ .”

She raised an eyebrow, an unconvinced smile pulling at her lips. 

He laughed. “Alright, maybe not that last one. But it’s true that if you’re not careful you can and  _ will  _ lose control of your flight. Eventually, it will be second nature for you, but just starting out can be dangerous if you don't know what your doing. You have to be prepared for something coming out of left field and possibly knocking you aside. When that happens, you need to know how to regain control of your Ki before you hit the ground” He gently set himself back on the ground before pushing out his hand and producing his own ball of Ki. “That’s the point of  _ this  _ exercise.” 

The ball of Ki began to shoot off to the left before coming to a sudden stop and shooting back and coming to an immediate halt exactly where it had been before. 

A grin pulled at the corners of his mouth as an idea struck him.  
Suddenly the ball of energy shot towards Videl, he watched her eyes grow wide with shock before the ball of energy stopped just before her chest. The golden sphere slowly started to spin around the woman, moving faster and faster as it went.

He watched Videl’s lips curl into a smile as she crossed her arms. “Show off.”

He let out a small laugh, letting the energy shoot off into the distance and explode in a mound of dust.

“Flying is a lot like manipulating that little ball of ki. You take the skill of wrapping yourself in Ki, and then push your body like how you would push the ball of energy. That’s why it’s so crucial you learn how to manipulate your Ki properly.”

He watched her eyes light up at that, a look of understanding crossing her features.

“Huh...never thought about it like that…”

He smiled. “Interesting how all these little lessons tie into each other huh? There’s a bunch of creative ways that you can utilize your energy, although, not all of them are as cool as shooting lasers and flying in the air haha.”

“Hmm…” He watched as her eyes narrowed in thought. “So should I try to fly then? Push off the ground and wrap myself in energy?”

He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. She  _ was  _ a natural...and controlling yourself in the air was considerably easier than pushing and pulling a mass of detached Ki was.

“If you feel you’re ready.” He smiled. “I guess this would be the best setting for a crash course, no one to run into and I’m right here to catch you if you start to fall.”

He watched her roll her eyes at him in a sarcastic manner. “What, you don’t think I’ll nail it first try?”

“Oh, I think you’ll  _ think  _ you’ve nailed it first try.” He pointed towards a large rock off in the distance. “But then you’ll realize you’re flying towards a rock like that and panic.  _ That’s  _ how crashes happen.”

_ Boy is that the truth. _

He still remembered his first time flying with Piccolo. He’d lifted off the ground feeling lighter than air only to go head first into a beehive as he’d been navigating the forest floors. Two broken down trees and a lake later, Gohan was feeling significantly  _ heavier  _ than air afterwards.

_ But she doesn’t need to know about  _ ** _that _ ** _ story. _

He internally laughed at himself.

“Hmmm…” She tapped a finger to her smiling lips, appearing rather confident as she did so. “I think I’ll manage.”

“Well then, let’s see it.” He motioned with his hand for her to proceed.

He watched her lower herself, ready to spring into the air before her confident expression fautered, replaced with what Gohan could only identify as...nervousness?

_ Stage fright? _

“...hey Gohan…”

“Hm?”

“What happens after I learn to fly?”

“What do you mean? You wanted to learn how to fly right?”

“Well...yeah…” she slowly shifted back into a normal standing position, one arm rubbing the other below the elbow. “But...is that it then?”

_ Is that it? _

Gohan blinked.

“Well no we’ll probably have one more session just to make sure that you’ve definitely figured it out, and then you’ll be free to do whatever you wish haha.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m sure you don’t want to be spending all your time out in the desert.”  
“...”

The young Saiyan raised an eyebrow at the woman’s silence. Had he said something wrong? He knew that it was hot out here, and as far as he’d seen Videl had shown no interest in learning how to fight. Aside from a few other tricks he had, all the skills he had pertained to combat training, and he wouldn’t force her to learn if she didn’t want to. Their time together would come to an end, but that had always been the deal...right?

He frowned, realizing that a part of him would miss these training sessions. Another part of him wondered if she was feeling the same…?

_ Keep it professional Gohan! If she doesn’t want you in her personal life, respect her boundaries! _

His mother had always taught him to respect women’s boundaries, a lesson heavily reinforced by Bulma.

He snapped back, forcing himself to proceed. “So, are you ready to give it a go?”

_ -Eighteen- _

_ If I show that I can fly now...then...that’s it? _

She found herself hesitating as Gohan stood mere feet away, waiting patiently with his typical good natured smile. She knew he expected her to figure it out as she’d done with everything else, to rise into the air as he had so that he could correct her flaws and make sure she had a strong grasp on the nature of flight. He expected her to learn, and then he expected her to leave.

“...”

Her gaze averted to the ground in that moment, unwilling to look the man in the eyes. That had always been the deal hadn’t it? To learn how to manipulate her Ki, to learn how to fly, and then to move on so that he could continue with his own lessons. It made sense, and Eighteen knew it would be selfish of her, and damn right nonsensical to want to keep up this routine.

_ I mean, he’s my mortal enemy, how am I having such a problem right now? _

It didn’t make sense. She’d reminded herself earlier that he didn’t actually care about the  _ true  _ her, just the fake person she was pretending to be. He cared about ‘Videl’, the woman who’d approached him at the bar, who’d taken an interest in him and went out for drinks with him from time to time. The woman who  _ hadn’t  _ killed hundreds of thousands of people, the person who  _ hadn’t  _ taken away his friends and family for her own selfish reasons. 

He cared about the person who _hadn’t _**decimated **the entire **world**.  
Her eyes closed in that moment. She hoped he thought it was her concentrating, but in reality, she was just trying to clear her mind of all the cluttering thoughts racing through her head, all of the conflicting emotions she didn’t know how to sort out.

_ It’s not like I love him or anything,  _ ** _that _ ** _ would be  _ ** _ridiculous_ ** _ ...but I do enjoy being around him...but I feel that I shouldn’t...why do I feel that way? _

Eighteen couldn’t understand  _ why  _ she felt the way she did. Well, she understood why she  _ thought  _ she might feel conflicted about being around him. She’d been fighting him for as long as she’d been ‘Android’ Eighteen, but it wasn’t like he’d ever truly hurt her in any meaningful way. Sure, he’d punched her in the face more than many could account for, but she and her brother had fought at times and she didn’t hate Seventeen for punching her in the face the few times he had. 

The other possibility that came to mind was the fact that she had been responsible for taking away everything that he cared about, everything that was ever important to him, including his left arm, had either been destroyed or threatened by her or her brother. But that couldn’t be the case because that would suggest some level of  _ guilt  _ over the fact that she’d done those things to him. Eighteen had never felt guilty about anything in her life except for when it came to Seventeen. She’d ended countless lives over the years, she could remember so many terrified, horrified, and pained faces and yet, she’d never shown an instant of hesitation to do it all again. 

Hell, even this little charade was nothing more than her chasing her own selfish desires. She’d only agreed to this arrangement for the sake of saving herself and Seventeen from what she felt was almost certain destruction. She wasn’t changing for the sake of humanity, or for the sake of anyone outside of herself and Seventeen. 

Her reasons were entirely selfish just like every decision she’d ever made in her life had been.   
Her mantra, or rather, Seventeen and her mantra had always been: Why not? So why was it _now _of all times, when faced with the person she’d sought to kill for so long, when faced with finally ending what had originally been a grueling, annoying arrangement where she had to be _nice _for several hours of the day, that she was struggling to make her decision?  
It should have been a no brainer for her.  
But it wasn’t.  
Eighteen sighed as she tensed her shoulders, conveying that she was concentrating as her face tightened.  
She told herself it was because she still wanted answers, she told herself it was so that she could learn more about Ki so that one day in the future if Gohan did attack them she would be even stronger in a fight against him.   
But it wasn’t as if she couldn’t get into contact with him again outside of this arrangement, sit him down and ask her question then. What more, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t had _numerous _opportunities to ask what she told herself she’d taken on this entire experience for.   
And it wasn’t as if she and her brother _struggled _to take down Gohan in the past. He’d always been on the retreating side of their engagements, always the loser, the one forced to fall back or brave certain death. Hell, he only had _one arm _now, suggesting that it would be even easier to kill him if the time came that they needed to. It wasn’t like she _needed _to know more in order to take down Gohan.

_ ...I even had the opportunity to kill him a couple of weeks ago… _

Eighteen knew that she was lying to herself, feeding herself false reasons to fail this test. She knew that deep down, those weren’t the reasons for why she didn’t want this arrangement to end, but in the same vein, she couldn’t decide what  ** _was _ ** the reason she didn’t want her flight lessons to go away.

She let her shoulders tense a second longer before sagging in a gasp. She slowly opened her eyes trying to appear distraught that she’d failed. She found the facade relatively easy to pull off, letting some of her self doubt bleed into the act.

She found it helped.

“Hey, it’s okay! Cheer up, I told you how it took me and Trunks a while to figure it out too right?” Gohan exclaimed with a confident smile. 

The way he looked at her, without any sarcasm, with genuine, unwavering confidence in her ability to improve, it was something she found she actually appreciated in these lessons.   
Whenever she failed, or rather, _pretended _to fail, he didn’t put her down or mock her like Seventeen would, he would encourage her, build her up and tell her that she just needed to try again.

Eighteen smiled back.

“Thanks.” She uttered quieter than she’d meant to.

“Of course!” He exclaimed, his mood brightening with her smile. “You’re doing a phenomenal job at this anyway. Seriously, no one learns Ki control this fast, so you’re bound to struggle at least  _ some  _ of the time.” 

“I guess so.” She mumbled rubbing one arm with the other.

“So, do you feel like maybe going through your Ki control exercises for awhile and trying again in a little bit.”

She didn’t want to.

She  _ really  _ didn’t want to.

For one reason or another, controlling her Ki and moving it around was actually genuinely difficult for her to do. Sure firing it off was second nature to her, she could fire a beam of energy through a target thousands of feet away without batting an eyelash, but that was because it was already pre-programmed in her to be able to do that. She’d come out of the operation already knowing how to fight, knowing how to use her abilities in a combat environment. 

But pushing and pulling her Ki? 

That was brand spanking new.

She sighed as she pushed her hands out and summoned a ball of golden, shining energy to push forward slowly. It was the first time in a long time that she found she was actually  _ struggling  _ at something. It was a foreign feeling, and one she didn’t particularly appreciate having lived with everything and anything at her fingertips if she wanted it.

Want to live in a mansion?

Go pick out one that you want and ‘remove’ the current residents.  
Want money?   
Go to a bank and rip off the doors as the cops shoot bullets that ping off her skin like tic tacs. 

Want fancy cars, designer clothing, and expensive jewelry?

Go down to the store, pick it all out and walk out. It wasn’t like there was anyone who could stop her.

All in all,  _ struggling _ was  **not ** something Eighteen was used to doing.

“You... _ really  _ don’t like pushing around your energy do you?”

Eighteen looked up, pulling her narrowed gaze on the golden sphere away to see the man’s seemingly conflicted expression. She could see that he had a...nervous look to his face, almost as if he was considering something that he didn’t know if he should tell her.  
She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant while also maintaining full focus on not letting the ball of energy explode.  
“Well...there _might _be another way to figuring out flight, but uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck looking away. Her eyes squinted as she swore she detected a slight _blush _to his cheeks. “It’s a little bit awkward.” he laughed nervously.

She raised a single eyebrow before jumping as she realized she’d let her focus slip as the ball of energy exploded into the ground several yards away.

She let out an aggravated sigh, turning to him. “Honestly, I’m willing to try anything if it means I can stop doing  _ this _ .” She motioned to the nearby dent in the dirt where her ball of energy had landed.

She watched as he hesitated only a moment longer before letting out a short breath of air. “Alright, it’s best you sit down for this one.”

Eighteen complied, folding her legs indian style as she did so. She watched curiously as Gohan sat down directly in front of her, raising an eyebrow at the fact that he was sat so close their knees were nearly touching.

He stretched out his open hand to her. “This is...well, it’s going to feel weird to you, but just...trust me alright?”

Eighteen’s brow furrowed before she reached out and took his hand with a nod of her head. His hand was warm and calliced, the hand of someone who’d seen countless battles. Meanwhile her hand was slender and delicate, identical to how it looked before she’d become an Android.

Eighteen realized now that it felt weird to be holding hands with the man who she’d tried to kill more times than she could count. She now understood why Gohan had seemed so awkward about this.

“Alright, so, this is the best way that my master could teach me how to detect Ki.” She felt his hand tense and then something...more. She couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but it was almost as if her own hand was humming in response, like a tingly sensation but not quite. 

_ Is he…? _

“Are you pushing your Ki into me?” She said with a dumbfounded expression.

A sheepish smile and a nod told her that her assumptions were correct.

_ I didn’t even know that was possible! _

Of course, why would she? When you had unlimited energy, why would you ever have to learn how to share or receive it?

_ Damn you Gero... _

“Now, I want you to push your energy to your hand and focus on it. Try and direct all of your attention on your hand and your energy as my own feeds into it.”

_ Focus on my energy? _

She frowned at the instruction. She’d never had to ‘focus’ on her energy before. It was all just instinct for her, just automatic function that her body handled on its own through Dr. Gero’s predetermined programming. She needed to be able to push her power to specific parts of her body whenever she blocked a strike with a forearm or in contrast, threw one of her own punches. Her energy manipulation was all just a natural component of her functionality, it was never  _ her  _ willing it, just her programming making her body do the things she demanded of it.

She pushed her energy to the hand as she’d been instructed to do, she could see it begin to glow ever so slightly from the concentration of two sources of energy fueling into it. 

Then, she blanked.

She had  _ no idea  _ how to focus in and detect her own Ki. It was obvious that he wanted her to take notice of something he was doing, but all she could detect was a very subtle tingling sensation going through her fingers.

_ I’m guessing ‘tingling’ isn’t what I’m supposed to be detecting here… _

She wanted to ask Gohan what he meant by ‘feeling’ her energy, but she realized that she’d supposedly  _ already  _ found her Ki several days back. When she’d been sitting ‘meditating’ was when she had been supposed to be able to find her energy and then pull from it. Her forming the energy ball was proof of that, or at least, proof to  _ him  _ that they could move on.

_ ...I really don’t know anything about Ki...do I? _

“Weird isn’t it?” Eighteen’s eyes, which had been previously staring down at her hand snapped back to Gohan. “It’s odd sensing someone else's Ki signature blending into your own. Feeling someone else’s presence with your own life energy is a...strange sensation. It’s like your energy is a pool of water filled to just the right amount, not too much, not too little, and then someone comes around and starts to empty theirs into yours, and its forcing your own pool to expand and grow to a place that you didn’t even know was possible.”

He smiled as he closed his eyes. “Do you feel it?”

She didn’t. 

But she wanted to. The way he talked about it, the relationship he had with his energy was so...intimate. It was a way of looking at things that Eighteen had never even thought to try. But now that she knew that someone could understand such a powerful part of themselves, understand what Gohan so often described as his life energy, his  _ essence _ , Eighteen wanted to experience that side of herself more than  _ anything _ .

“I...I think I’m getting there.” She spoke with a hitch to her voice, clearly still confused.

“That’s alright. You might still be feeling it as something foreign, like something that you can use, but it’s not a part of you. You need to view the energy not as a tool, but as a part of yourself much like your arms or legs are. It’s always with you, always there no matter how big or small. It’s easier to feel your own and know what it is, but when a new entity makes itself known, it can be easy to try and push it out.” He let out a nervous laugh. “I wish I could help more, but it’s difficult to know what your energy is doing right now since I can’t sense it.”

“N-no, I think you’re helping more than you think.” She stammered as she felt her breath quicken. She let her eyes fall shut as she reflected on his words. 

_ Not as a tool, but as a part of myself… _

Was  _ that  _ what she was doing wrong? She remembered one of the dumb action movies Seventeen had forced her to watch with him had a sword master tell a student that they needed to treat the blade as not an outside tool but rather an extention of their own body. Was that what she needed to do? Had she been using her energy like a tool, and not as an extension of herself all this time?

It made sense if she really thought about it. Sure, the robot bits Gero had put in her translated the information she needed to tell her body to produce energy, Ki blasts, and achieve flight, but she’d never actually reached out and tried to communicate directly with her power. She’d always held her power at an arm’s reach, letting the machine part of her take care of it so that she didn’t have to.

It was like a game of telephone. She told the translator what she wanted, and it handled the rest.

_ But now  _ ** _I _ ** _ need to somehow get around that translator… _

Easier said than done, that was for sure, where could she even begin?

Her mind went back to the ‘pool’ analogy.

_ Maybe if I start there…couldn’t hurt to try right? _

She closed her eyes.

She pictured herself in a pool of blue water, focusing on its sensation, its visualization, the texture, the wetness. She felt the tension in her shoulders ease at this image. She’d always liked going to the beach and swimming when she’d been younger.

Next, she pictured an outside source, a tube of some sort pouring even more into the pool, letting the pool fill up even more. She made that outside water a different color, a translucent green that mixed into her water, swirling as the two liquids formed one. A strange combination of the colors forming.

Then she felt something odd, something...different.

She felt a pull of something in the distance of her mind, something that was reaching out back towards her as she reached out towards it.

Eighteen felt herself grow excited and immediately let the image of the pool of water fade away at this new source of... _ something _ . What it was, Eighteen couldn’t say just yet, it was calling for her, almost as if it’d wanted to reach out and contact her this whole time, but couldn’t.

Not until she’d reached out towards  _ it  _ first.

She felt it drawing nearer, uncertain if it was she getting closer to it or it getting closer to her. 

Either way, she did not  _ dare  _ do anything to interrupt the process.

A few seconds later, she felt herself before whatever this thing was. She found that it wasn’t what she’d thought it would be. She thought it would be like a source of light within, something she could visualize, but it wasn’t, she could feel it, sense it within her, but there was no sight, there was nothing that her five senses could do to detect it. 

Gohan had told her it was something that she had to feel that she needed to push out all other senses to find.

She began to realize why he’d told her that meditation was the best way to accomplish this. It made sense, it was so small that if she hadn’t been  _ actually  _ looking for it, she doubted she would ever find it.

For a moment she wondered if it had been reaching out to her the whole time, always there, waiting for her to notice it, to accept it and engage with it. She wondered if this was the reason so many people were never able to use their Ki at all, it wasn’t something someone could notice unless you were actively searching for it.

She reached out, and touched it.

And immediately knew it to be hers. It felt like her, radiated her own energy, her feelings, her thoughts. It  _ was  _ her, in every sense of the word. It represented her as much as any other part of her did, it was her  _ life energy _ .

It felt warm, and it felt right.

She realized at that moment why Gohan had called it an energy signature. It was  _ her  _ signature, unique, beautiful, unreplicatable.

She felt her lips curl into a smile.

“You can feel it now, can’t you?”

Eighteens eyes snapped open, realizing that she’d forgotten where she was for a moment as she responded. “Huh?”

“My energy.” He grinned at her blank expression. “You found it?”

“Uh, yeah, I think I’m close.” She smiled sheepishly, forcing down a blush and realizing at the same time why Gohan had always talked about his energy so  _ intimately _ . It really was an intimate part of you to discover. It felt like she was almost naked before it, she couldn’t hide away any part of her from it just as it couldn’t hide itself from her. It  _ was  _ her, they were one and the same, she’d just never known it was there before.

He nodded understandingly. “Take your time, it’s an...interesting part of Ki.”

She flashed him a thankful smile. In that moment, she felt true undeniable  _ gratitude  _ towards this man. He’d shown her a part of herself she’d never even thought to explore. It was eye opening to say the least,  _ this  _ had been a part of her this whole time?

It was  _ incredible. _

“...Thank you Gohan.”

“Huh?” He smiled. “Well you’re welcome Videl.” He frowned, “But what for? All I’m doing is giving you a little bit of my energy for awhile, no big deal.”

She shook her head, refuting his statement. “For showing me all of this...I feel like I haven’t properly thanked you for the effort of teaching me all of this.”

He let out a soft laugh. “You’ve thanked me plenty of times Videl, what do you mean?”

Her smile faltered only slightly. It was true, she had thanked him multiple times in the past week, but those had never been genuine, they’d been part of the act, all part of pretending that she was learning how to control her Ki for the first time.

This time however, she found that she  _ wasn’t  _ pretending.

“Just...I guess I just wanted to thank you again.” She shrugged, still nervous to let go of her Ki now that she’d actually found it, but realizing as she let herself relax that it wasn’t attempting to vanish or go anywhere. Now that she knew of it, and it knew of her, it was there to stay.

** _This _ ** _ is the connection Gohan has with his Ki… _

And now she needed to find his Ki too.

She let her eyes fall shut as she re-established that connection to herself that she’d found.   
She frowned as she made yet another realization. 

Her Ki, her life force...it felt so  _ small _ . Gohan had described his being rather large in comparison to everyone else's, and she knew that her power had to have been at the very least somewhere in the same ballpark as his considering the fact that she and her brother were  _ stronger  _ than him. Not only that, but where was Gohan’s energy? If he was really pushing his power into hers, then why couldn’t she sense it like her own? Where was it going to if not here?

Then she sensed it.

A... _ tether _ .

There was something else there, connected by what Eighteen could only describe as a vein of energy that led off towards something else. It didn’t feel right at all, like a leech or some sort of virus that wasn’t supposed to be there, but was there all the same.   
Eighteen decided to follow the energy, tracing the tether back to its origins. 

It didn’t take long.

Eighteen’s face shifted into a scowl as she found it. The ‘gift’ Gero had pushed into her body.

It was  _ massive _ , just like Gohan had described, but at the same time, it felt like it wasn’t there at all. It was like a cruel bastardization of what energy was  _ supposed  _ to be, like someone had created an artificial source of life, one that didn’t have the same life or personality that a normal Ki signature should, that  _ hers  _ did. Despite being  _ enormous, _ so large that it overshadowed her own Ki signature several thousand times over, it also felt empty, as if it was a lifeless husk being forced to cooperate with her. A cruel imitation of what life was supposed to look like, but not quite right. 

It  _ disgusted  _ her.

_ Ofcourse, that’s what Dr.Gero was all about, creating disgusting imitations of life, playing God, but never quite reaching it. _

She wanted to take it and  _ break  _ it somehow. Reach out and sever the connection tying this  _ monstrosity  _ to her own Ki signature. It finally made sense now why Gohan had told her that he couldn’t sense anything from her. This  _ thing  _ was blocking her!

_ Focus Eighteen. We need to find Gohan. _

She made herself relax again as she expanded her search. A part of her felt the reason this was so hard for her to find was because of a failure in design. While this energy was very much a part of her, it was connected to her by a thin line, her energy signature was still separate from this one, as if they didn’t or maybe  _ couldn't  _ form more than a thin connection from one and other. Was it perhaps that this energy wasn’t designed well enough to connect with others easily? Was that the reason that she couldn’t detect Gohan’s?

_ Not as much of a genius as you thought you were huh Gero? _

She internally sneered.

And then she found it. A  _ third  _ source of energy pushing into her reserves, pushing against the walls of this  _ abomination  _ that was her own source of Ki.

She reached out and touched it.

And immediately gasped.

It was so much  _ different  _ from her own, but no  _ worse  _ for it! She could  _ feel  _ Gohan in a way that was so personal, so integral to who he was as an individual that she almost felt embarrassed to have been shown that side of him. She could detect his morals, his feelings, the  _ good  _ that radiated to his very soul.

In fact, it felt almost as if she was getting a small peak into his very soul.

And it was  _ wonderful _ .

Her hand tightened slightly around his. She could understand now why he’d felt so nervous about sharing this with her. He was trusting her with a deeper peek at who he was as a person. She imagined that sharing energy between people being something very personal if more people were able to tap into their Ki. She could even imagine people refusing to share energy between one another simply due to how personal it was. They were literally sharing their life energy with another person. How could that  _ not  _ be personal?

“You’ve uh, you’ve figured it out, haven’t you?” Gohan said in an almost sheepish manner.

She smiled, lost in the moment.”Yeah, I feel you now. It’s incredible. You’re  _ beautiful _ .”

There was a sudden pause as Eighteen continued to enjoy the warmth that was spreading across her body, the feeling of Gohan’s energy seeking out her own, combining for what would be a limited amount of time.

But Eighteen planned to enjoy every second of it.

Then her eyes snapped open as she realized what she’d said. Gohan’s face was a bright red, his eyes wide with shock.

She immediately fell back, pulling her hand away. 

“S-Sorry! I-I didn’t mean, I mean you’re not- I’m-” She stammered feeling more embarrassed than she’d ever felt before in her life. She’d just called him  _ beautiful _ ! But that had been the only word she knew to describe the sensation she was feeling. It  _ had  _ been beautiful. Gohan’s energy  _ was  _ beautiful to her.

_ What the hell is wrong with me!? _

She thought in a frantic panic.

Then Gohan started laughing. 

Eighteen fell quiet as his shoulders rippled with laughter, her lips tightening into a pout.

_ Is he laughing  _ ** _at _ ** _ me? _

A part of her wanted to hit him for laughing at her embarrassment. 

...Another part of her wanted to join in.

“Sorry-” He wheezed between laughing fits. “It’s just your face was so red! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you embarrassed Videl.”

She wanted to get mad like she would normally. Her instincts were telling her to snap at him for making a fool out of her, to snarl and bare her teeth like she would for any other person.

But after he’d shown her something so personal...after sharing what was his very essence…

All Eighteen wanted to do was laugh  _ with  _ him.

So she did.

“Hehe, I guess I don’t really get embarrassed very often.” She snickered, her grin matching his.

“I can tell.” He chuckled, the laughter eventually dying down as he let out a deep breath. “Alright, ready to try again?”

She blinked, confused. “Huh? Wasn’t that…?” Hadn’t been finding her Ki and then his own been the entire point of the exercise?

“I was trying to teach you how to fly remember?”

She slapped a hand to her face. “Right. Sorry, I…” She sighed, shaking her head at herself. How could she have forgotten? “Yeah, let’s do it.”

They sat down again. She placed her hand into his and closed her eyes. A moment later, she felt the familiar presence of his Ki flooding onto hers. She did her best not to be taken aback by just how intricate and powerful it was, how strong and incredible it felt. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before.

“You feel it?”

“Yes.”

“Can you sense what it’s doing?”

She frowned as she reached out with her senses. It felt like it was rising, almost increasing, growing  _ stronger _ .

“Uh, I’m not sure...it feels like it’s getting...bigger?” She didn’t know what to make of it. How could Ki get larger? Her’s was massive,  _ huge  _ even.

“Exactly! Good,that means you’re focused. Now, I’m going to do something weird with my energy, and I want you to try and imitate me, okay?”

“Got it.” She said with a determined expression.

She immediately felt what he was describing. It was still there, translating over to her own energy, but now it was...shifting, orienting itself as if it had a  _ goal.  _ She felt as it shifted, following the tether allowing for this connection back to Gohan’s form where it was enveloping himself, reaching out and expanding so that it was wrapping around him. It was only when she did this that she realized that she was no longer just viewing the energy he was sending over to her, but rather her senses were stretching out to compensate for him, she was sensing  _ his  _ energy signature separate from his tether to hers.

Eighteen finally understood what he’d meant by saying that Ki could be large or small based on the individual. His was  _ huge  _ compared to her own,  _ real  _ energy. Ofcourse, she imagined that her human side, that part of her that wasn’t Gero didn’t have much energy at all.

_ ...weird...his is large but the...I guess I’d call it the... _ ** _Gero _ ** _ side of me is so much larger than what I’m sensing from him...there’s definitely something more going on there. _

He’d always seemed stronger than her in a one on one fight, of course, that was also when he was sporting his blonde look.

_ I’ll have to ask when I get the chance. _

It was so complex, so very interesting that Eighteen took several seconds to watch the process before realizing that she was supposed to be imitating him. 

She looked back at her own energy and started to replicate it, trying to mold the energy Gero had forced upon her to do the same as Gohan’s.

It did so with gusto, almost as if it was used to complying with very little effort. 

She began to follow how Gohan was pushing his energy, taking the energy focused on wrapping itself around her body and using it to shift. She kept her eyes closed the entire time, despite having done this more times than she could count, now that she was the one  _ actively  _ controlling it, she found that it was actually  _ difficult  _ to control and maintain.

“Videl?”

“Yeah Gohan?”

“You should open your eyes now.”

She did, and her mouth fell open.

They were  _ at least  _ a hundred feet off the ground. She’d thought that  _ maybe  _ they had been a few inches off the ground at most, but in an effort to perfectly replicate what Gohan’s energy was doing…

_ Did he purposely keep pushing just to see if I could do it? _

He was sporting a toothy grin that stretched from ear to ear.

“Well done Videl. You’re finally flying.”

A part of her wanted to scowl at him for tricking her into flying.

Another part of her wanted to give him a  _ hug  _ for showing her something so absolutely incredible about herself. 

It was weird to her to be  _ wanting  _ to hug her enem-.

She blinked.

It felt  _ wrong  _ to call him her enemy now.

How could someone who’d shown so much to her...be her enemy?

He wasn’t, couldn’t be.

He was no longer  _ Blondie... _ he was  _ Gohan  _ now and maybe...also…a friend?

The concept was strange, and a part of her still resisted it, but she knew it was true all the same. Even if he didn’t know the real her, even if her brother wanted him dead, or more accurately  _ thought  _ he was dead...after all that he’d shown her...how could he not be her friend?

The urge to hug him only grew.

And the feeling of never wanting to do something so girly fought it back.

But at the same time…  
Eighteen sighed annoyed, tired of feeling conflicted about every decision she wanted to make. She wanted to just _do _what she wanted without feeling like she shouldn’t.

_ Alright Eighteen. We’re doing this. I don’t care what reservations you have about this. We are going to give him a hug, he’s shown you something incredible and he deserves it. Hug in 3,2- _

“Hey! You finally figured it out! Nice!”

Eighteen’s resolve dissipated immediately as Trunks appeared at their side, a bright grin on his features as he met her gaze. He was looking back and forth between her and Gohan with a bright, almost  _ too  _ excited smile.

She realized then that she was  _ still holding Gohan’s hand _ .

She retracted her hand immediately as Gohan did the same. She could see he was bearing a slight blush.

She wondered if she was blushing too.

“It was ah, all Gohan really. I just imitated him, no big deal…” She spoke trying to push down the flustered emotions she was feeling. 

Damn that dumb kid!  
Gohan laughed shaking his head. “No I hardly did anything.” She appreciated when he shifted his gaze towards Trunks, feeling it helped with the anxiety she was feeling for attention to be pulled away from her. “She’s the one who had to figure out how to sense energy before she could replicate what I was doing, that was the hard part if anything.”

Eighteen blinked.

Sense energy? Had  _ that  _ been what she was doing? Of course it had been, she’d been able to  _ feel  _ Gohan’s energy afterall.

But...did that mean that she could now…?

She closed her eyes as she attempted to do what she’d done before, stretching out her senses past herself, past her own Ki reserves and sucked in a sharp breath of air.

_ Trunks! _

She could feel the boy’s energy now, most likely made easier by the fact that he was so close to them. His energy was bright like Gohan’s was, although with Gohan’s she could sense more of his personality bleeding through, likely due to the fact he’d been literally feeding his energy into her at the time she determined. It was like comparing seeing someone fully dressed compared to seeing someone fully exposed she assumed.

The idea that she’d seen such a personal part of Gohan made her face heat up again.

She made herself pull away from that thought as she focused on Trunks’s energy a little more. His was most likely larger than most would be, but  _ considerably  _ lower than anywhere she or Gohan was currently at. It also  _ felt  _ young, which was weird to feel about a person. It was almost as if there were distinctions you could make about a person solely based on their energy, even if they weren’t actively feeding it to you. She could sense that Trunks was at a state of rest, he was calm, or maybe a little excited if that was what that brightness was. There was more there to interpret, but still being new at sensing energy, Eighteen concluded that it would likely take time for her to eventually decipher it all.

She was curious to see what the rest of the world would look like, her mind slowly drifting out towards where she knew West City to be.

Before she could find anyone however, she heard a snicker.

Her eyes snapped open only to find both Gohan and Trunks staring at her each with wide knowing grins spread across their faces.

... _ They both know exactly what I was doing. _

Eighteen was not used to blushing this much and fought back the feeling of embarrassment after being caught.

“Cool right?” Trunks spoke, “It’s awesome being able to sense the world, the life on it, it’s like...it’s almost like looking out at the stars isn’t it?”

Eighteen’s head tilted to the side in thought.

“Go on, try it out. I know you’re excited to see it.” Gohan nodded.

Eighteen smiled with a small nod before closing her eyes again and stretching out her senses as she’d done before.

She eventually stretched out enough to find West City, having to rely on the power Dr.Gero had given her to do so, before stopping in awe.

It  _ was  _ incredible. Just like Trunks had described, it was as if she was staring out into the night sky, looking out at all the twinkling stars. However, these stars were far more beautiful, each of these stars carried with it a small shred of personality that she could detect, some of them agitated, others were excited, some were angry, and many simply in a state of calmness. She couldn’t sense from them a  _ reason  _ for all of these emotions, but she could still faintly detect that they were there. Each was interesting, some more than others, but she could differentiate each of them just from their subtle differences, from their  _ signatures  _ alone..

And then, abruptly a _large _portion of them **went out**.   
Eighteen’s brow furrowed in confusion. What could _that _mean? 

Her eyes snapped open and saw that Trunks and Gohan were both wide eyed with shock, staring off in the direction of West City just as she’d been.

She saw Gohan’s face shift into that of a dark, hate filled snarl.

It was a face she knew well.

Her eyes widened in realization. She knew  _ exactly  _ what that meant.

_ ...no… _

A cold chill ran down her spine, but he’d promised! 

“Take Videl back to your mother’s and get into the panic room. Keep the two of them  _ safe _ .”

Her mouth felt dry as she suddenly felt Gohan’s Ki rise to an incredible amount before he exploded in an aura of golden flames, his hair sharpened and hardened to rise towards the air.

There he was, Blondie was back.

_ Wait what!? Why would I go with Trunks!? I-...I’m Videl...I’m a woman who Gohan thinks lives in West City… _

Her fingers curled into fists in frustration.

** _Fuck_ ** _ . _

She saw a conflicted expression cross the boy’s features at Gohan’s words, almost as if he didn’t want to listen.

“Trunks!” Gohan’s voice was harsh, bordering on intimidating. “This isn’t the time to fight me about this. Take Videl back or else even more people are going to die for us wasting time!”

And he was right, for the first time, Eighteen could  _ feel  _ that he was correct as another large group of the lights went out in her mind. Seventeen was going on a  _ rampage _ .

_ God damn it Seventeen! What the hell is wrong with you!? _

She internally roared with frustration as she desperately tried to appear calm, or rather, nervous, which she  _ was _ .

The conflicted expression on the boy’s face eventually shifted into one of defeat. “Sorry. You’re right.” Turning to face her he spoke with a maturity that was far older than he. “Videl, I know that this is the first time flying for you, but do you think you can fly a little longer? It would be faster than getting out the jet-copter.”

She nodded slowly, uncertain of what she was meant to do in this situation.

_ If I go with Trunks now then Seventeen will be forced to contend with Gohan  _ ** _alone_ ** _ .  _

Her eyes filled with panic.

  
  


_ -Gohan- _   


_ Again. They’re attacking  _ ** _again_ ** _ . _

It never ended,  _ wouldn’t  _ end until he stopped them.

He watched as Trunks and Videl began to fly off. He noticed the look of concern she was trying to suppress as she went. She looked absolutely  _ terrified _ , nervous and anxious. He couldn’t blame her. He imagined that many were going through the exact same feeling.

_ She mentioned family earlier, she probably has someone back in West City she’s scared for.  _

It would make sense. He’d met her in West City, it was likely she lived there. He mentally prayed that they hadn’t been a part of the victims of this initial attack.  
He sensed another dozen Ki signatures vanish from his sense, extinguished like they were nothing.

It sickened him that he’d gotten so used to that feeling.

His golden aura enveloping him, he shot forward, pushing his body to move as fast as he physically could because lives depended on him getting there in time. Every second wasted was another potential victim, another life taken away from this world.

There were so few of them now, so little left to protect.

He didn’t feel significantly stronger than the last time he’d faced them, he didn’t think that he’d miraculously found the solution to his problem either, but that didn’t mean that he could just stand by and let this happen  _ again _ .

He raced towards where he could feel the destruction occurring, knowing that he was likely to lose once more, but resigning himself to do everything he could to stop the Androids from killing just one more person.

He wouldn’t win.

He knew it to be fact.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give it his  _ all  _ to stop them as he raced towards West City.

_ -Seventeen- _

“P-Please! Spare m-me! I-I’ll do anything! ”

Seventeen rolled his eyes as he dropped the body of who he assumed had been the man’s co-worker. He’d slaughtered the entire rest of the office, with bodies slumped over cubicles and desks alike. Blood was so soaked into the carpet that Seventeen had gotten used to the wet noise it made as he walked across the room towards the man cowering in the corner, tears racing down his face like it would make a difference.

Seventeen snickered as he drew close, watching the man pull his knees to his chest, clenching his eyes shut in a  _ pathetic  _ whimper.

He sneered down at the man. He looked middle-aged, maybe later forties with a bald head and a pudgy midsection. Seventeen couldn’t picture  _ anyone  _ missing such an ugly looking individual. There wasn’t a chance in Hell that he wasn’t going to die before Seventeen moved onto the next building.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have a little  _ fun  _ with him first.

The Android lowered himself so that he was crouching down next to the man.

He let his voice soften, sounding concerned, or maybe empathetic? Seventeen wasn’t sure what it would sound like to the man, it was only an act after all.

“What? Buddy no, I would never hurt  _ you _ .” Seventeen reached out and placed a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder, suppressing his snicker when the man visibly jumped from the contact.

He watched as the sniveling mess of blubber slowly opened his now red eyes, his fearful gaze meeting Seventeen’s.

“W-What?”

“I would never hurt  _ you  _ buddy.” Seventeen did his best to develop a sincere smile and contain his utter disgust with the man. “You’re the entire reason I’m  _ here  _ man. I did all of this to  _ save  _ you.”

He watched with delight as the man’s face warped into one of confusion. “W-What do you mean?”

Seventeen slowly reached out a hand to help the man up. After several moments of hesitation, the man reached out and took it. Seventeen pulled him up carefully, making sure that he didn’t trip from the trembling in his legs.

_ God I love this  _ ** _game_ ** _ . _

It was one that he and his sister had developed after several years of the same day in day out murder sprees. A little spice of life if you will. It was unfortunate how  _ rarely  _ they’d get to actually play it since it took so long to actually pull off. Blondie would always crash in and spoil the fun before they could get too far in the  _ game _ . But now that he was gone…

_ I’m free to play to my heart’s content! _

The objective?

To try to get the target to  _ willingly  _ kill  ** _themselves_ ** _ . _

“You’re Todd right?”

He watched the man’s face light up in shock, almost as if he  _ wasn’t  _ currently wearing a nametag with his name written in big bold letters. 

_ What the hell type of office requires name tags anyway? _

“H-How did you know m-my name?”

Seventeen briefly stole a second glance across the room. It looked like there were a bunch of photos of new homes everywhere, perhaps he was a real estate agent? One of those people who showed homes off to people or something? It would explain the name tag, convenience for the customer and all that nonsense.

“Easy, because we’ve been looking for you Todd, for a long long time.” He tried to shoot a sympathetic smile but wasn’t sure if he pulled it off. Eighteen was always better at faking emotions then he was. 

“W-what?” Seventeen could tell that he was absolutely still terrified of him.

He let out a casual laugh, patting the man on the back. “ _ Relax  _ man, I already told ya I’m not gonna hurt ya.”

“B-but, you’ve k-killed all these p-people..” 

“People?” Seventeen frowned as he raised an eyebrow at the absolute  _ massacre  _ surrounding them. “Todd, these  _ aren’t people _ , they’re figments of  _ your  _ imagination.”

He could see the blatant confusion on the man’s face now. “W-What are you t-talking about?”

Seventeen sighed shaking his head. “We’d hoped you’d have caught onto it first Todd, but I guess then, we wouldn’t have had to come here to try and break you out if you did.”

He could see that the man was severely confused.

_ Perfect _ .

“Todd, it’s been more than a  _ decade  _ now. You  _ need  _ to wake up already.”

“Wake up?”

“Yes!” Seventeen reached out and grabbed the man’s shoulders, startling him as he continued. “Can’t you see? All of this! Everything around you  _ isn’t real _ !”

He watched Todd’s head whip back and forth frantically, his eyes filled with panic. “W-What? What isn’t real?”

“All of this!” Seventeen stepped away, motioning with his extended arms towards the room. “It’s something you created with your mind after the accident, something to help your mind heal after such a serious injury!”

“...accident?” 

Seventeen hid his grin as he turned his back to the man. The delightful thing he and Eighteen had discovered about people was that they were quick to believe anything if they were shell-shocked enough.

“Yes Todd.” Seventeen turned back around to face him with a solemn frown. “You were in a terrible car crash, one that led to some severe brain trauma, and even a coma.”

“A...coma?” 

“Yes Todd. Your brain finally started to recover, and so it created this.” He motioned with an arm. “A world where things were okay, where life made sense and you weren’t injured in the hospital.”

Todd’s brow furrowed. “B-but…” he pointed a weak finger at Seventeen.

“You’re starting to see the cracks in the illusion.” Seventeen smiled. This was going so damn smoothly! “When your brain finally started to recover, it needed a way for you to realize that all of this wasn’t real. It needed a way to shake itself out of this fake world so that you can finally start to wake up. I mean, c’mon! Two young adults with miraculous super human abilities, flying around and shooting lasers out of their hands? terrorizing humanity? That’s like a bad joke! It’s absolutely  _ ridiculous _ !” 

He could see Todd’s eyes focusing now, his mind trying to trying to make sense of what he was being told.

“I was created from your mind to try and wake you up. We both were.” He said referring to Eighteen. “We thought that you would for sure think something was up, we never thought that you’d actually accept it as  _ truth _ .”

He walked up to the man and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Do you understand what I’m telling you Todd?”

This was the moment of truth, to see if he’d actually convinced this dopey piece of  _ shit  _ that he was in a fake reality. 

He watched as Todd looked away for a moment, before meeting his gaze again. “I...I think so…”

_ aaaaaand touch down! _

Seventeen internally cheered at his own accomplishment. It was so _rare _that this one worked! The Android felt a swell of pride in himself, maybe _he _was the better actor after all!  
_Alright, get back in character! We’re not in the clear just yet!_

“Todd…” He let out a deep, meaningful sigh. “I won’t sugar coat it. You’ve been asleep for a long time. You’re mind can’t keep this up forever. It’s the reason that we were created, to slowly break down everything that isn’t actually real.” he met the man’s gaze, holding it with a serious gaze. “I’ve finally come to you in my last effort to try and shake you out of this haze. This is your final chance to wake up, to actually re-enter the  _ real _ World, where this-” He made a motion towards the bloody room. “-Isn’t your reality.”

He saw a hopeful look wash over his features. A life  _ without  _ the Androids? It was almost too good to be true!

_ Well, because it  _ ** _is_ ** **.**

“How do I wake up?” The man asked with a stern resolve to his voice.

Seventeen smiled at him. “Atta boy. I knew you could do it.”

“Well, you are a part of my mind, aren't you?”

Seventeen forced a laugh. “Now you’re catching on. Come on, I’ll show you how.”

The Android slowly led the real estate agent over to the massive gaping hole in the wall he’d made to get in.

He could see the worry in the man’s eyes as they drew nearer.

Seventeen stood next to the massive hole before turning back to the man. They were more than six stories up,  _ probably  _ enough of a drop to kill a man he guessed.

“In order to wake up, you need to commit to  _ leaving  _ this false world behind you. You have to tell your mind that you refuse to remain a prisoner to its confines any longer.” He grinned, uncertain if he was still managing to pull off ‘friendly’ anymore. 

He motioned a single hand to the opening. “You have to end the life you have here to reach the real life you have back home.”

He watched as the man stared wearily at the opening, the cool breeze licking the side of his face.

“Your call bud.” Seventeen shot him a sympathetic smile. “I can’t make the decision for you.”

Of Course the man didn’t  _ really  _ have a choice in whether he lived or died. If he decided that he didn’t believe him anymore, then Seventeen would just kill him like he did all the others. But of course, that wasn’t the point of all of this. The point was that he’d  _ finally  _ have bragging rights to Eighteen since she’d been the only one able to actually  _ convince  _ anyone to properly  _ do it _ . She’d always held that over his head that  _ she  _ was the more effective killer because she’d been able to manipulate some human trash to do the dirty work for her. With this? He’d  _ finally  _ get her off his back about it.

He watched as Todd took a nervous step forward, and then another step, and then finally, he was standing on the edge of the drop, staring at the scene down below.

Seventeen felt a smile pulling at his lips, knowing that he’d  _ finally  _ win at this game-

**Pain** .

An  _ explosion  _ of pain against the side of his face.

Seventeen blinked as he tried to shake the spinning going on in his head. Was he in...rubble? He sat up confused as he tried to make sense of things. Rubbing his cheek,he could faintly make out the shape of a  _ boot  _ that had imprinted itself against the side of his face. Pushing off some of the debris and cement that had fallen on top of him. He could finally see that he was on the  _ other side  _ of the building he’d just been standing in, a massive hole his body had formed when he’d been sent rocketing away uncontrollably. 

He started to pick himself up when a  _ familiar  _ face slowly started to descend right in front of him. 

His eyes went wide in shock.

_ No...it’s not possible. _

His mouth fell open, baffled. 

“...You’re supposed to be...dead…?” 

Landing before him, in his all too familiar golden aura…

Seventeen’s face contorted into a vicious snarl.

_ Blondie!  _

  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> I imagine that some of you are most likely upset that we didn’t get around to the fight with Seventeen this chapter. I promise that I had originally intended to make this chapter be focused on that. My outline only marks Eighteen learning about Ki control as a very small section, but as I wrote it I found more and more to explore and I kind of lost myself creating that scene hahaha. I know that I took some liberties in Ki and the nature of its being, but I genuinely feel like life source energy should feel something like this. I hope you appreciated the section as much as I did writing it. I promise to get onto the next chapter as soon as possible, but considering I managed to release this chapter a week after the first...I feel like I may have earned a rest haha.
> 
> I’m looking forward to the upcoming fight just as much as the rest of you are, so please stay tuned and check out the next chapter when it eventually releases! And if you desperately want to see the next chapter of this story, consider posting a review! It’s truly the reviews that get me through these chapters and push me to continue the project for as long as I can.  
Nothing else to say I don’t think.
> 
> So until next time!


	10. Off Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan and Seventeen's battle rages on as Eighteen struggles to find her opening to slip away from the briefs compound before its too late.

_ -Gohan- _

His expression hardened as his eyes narrowed on the Android before him. He couldn’t help but notice the completely shocked expression on Seventeen’s face. His eyes were wide with surprise, his mouth slightly agape in a face that told him that his very  _ presence  _ had stunned him.

“...You’re supposed to be...dead…?” 

Gohan’s eyebrow rose slightly at that comment. He was  _ supposed  _ to be dead? What did that mean? Gohan’s mind returned to over a week prior when he’d seen Eighteen hovering over his broken and battered body. She’d denied him death in that moment, flown off to Kami-knows where and in the process _ spared _ him.

_ I still don’t know why she spared me...but now at least I know that it hadn’t been agreed on. Eighteen  _ ** _lied _ ** _ to Seventeen...or at least, he’d expected her to kill me, and she hadn’t corrected his assumption… _

Gohan wanted to take a moment to reflect on this new information, perhaps let his mind process what this could possibly mean, but he knew  _ now  _ wasn’t the time.

“The only one dying today is  _ you  _ Seventeen. I’ve gotten stronger since the last time we fought.” The Saiyan fell into his usual fighting stance, stealing glances left and right as he let his senses spread out across the city. “Prepare to feel what you’ve tormented these people with for  _ years  _ Seventeen. Prepare to know that  _ you  _ are going to  **die** .” His words were just that, words. He was using his speech to buy time for his senses to further stretch out across the city to get an accurate read of his surroundings, and where Android Eighteen might still be lurking. That, and to see how careful he had to be in that moment. He had to make sure that no one got caught in the crossfire due to him leveling a building or firing a ki blast the wrong direction.

He could  _ feel  _ the mass mayhem, panicked, fearful energies rapidly fleeing from him, or rather, the  **Android** .

_ But no energy sources disappearing…? _

A second confusing piece of information. Typically when he encountered one of the Androids alone, it meant that the other was close by, unaware of his arrival and still slaughtering like the  **monster ** they were. The fact that he couldn’t sense any power levels disappearing...did that mean…?

_ Is Android Eighteen  _ ** _not _ ** _ here? _

The Saiyan rid the idea from his thoughts as soon as it had arrived. It wouldn’t make sense for one to be without the other. They  _ always  _ came together, he’d  _ never  _ encountered one alone, and the few times he had come to that conclusion had only lead to the other appearing and ambushing him, a punishment for letting his guard down.

He saw the look of shock slowly bleed away from the Android’s face, his lips contorted into a vicious snarl as he pushed himself out of the small crater his body had formed upon impact. His fingers curled into fists as he rose to his feet.

“Are you really  _ that  _ stupid? Or did I actually hear you  _ threaten  _ me as if you could actually  _ hurt  _ me Goldielocks. You’re a damn cripple! What the hell do  _ you  _ think you’re going to be able to do to me.”

“How about we find out.” The half-Saiyan spoke with a coldness to his tone he’d learned from years of hearing it spoken to himself.

_ Even if Eighteen is playing a game and trying to ambush me, I need to push this opportunity as much as I can. A one on one fight is fairer than two on one. _

Immediately, power flashed alive in his hand before he shoved it forward with a roar. A blue explosion of energy erupted from his palm, surging towards Seventeen with such a speed that it appeared that the attack had engulfed him.

Gohan wasn’t so gullible.

He heard the whistle of  _ something  _ splitting the air heading straight for the side of his face before he ducked low, allowing the heel of Seventeen’s shoe to sail harmlessly over his head before swinging back with a violent back hand. The bones in Gohan’s arm rattled as he felt the Android’s ready forearm stop his attack inches away from his cheek. 

Gohan didn’t see the punch aimed for the back of his head before it was too late. The Saiyan grunted as a flash of pain rang out through his skull, followed by a sharp intake of air as the Android drove his heel directly into the man’s gut.

Knowing he didn’t have time to nurse his wounds, Gohan forced himself to ignore the pain, his head still ringing as he caught a glimpse of a fist heading straight for his nose. Slipping to the side, Seventeen’s attack struck air before a wild haymaker connected with the Androids cheek echoing through the streets from the impact. 

Seventeen’s head whipped involuntarily to the side, his body attempting to spin with it had it not been for the Android resisting the momentum.

_ Now’s my chance! _

Despite knowing that Seventeen and Eighteen seemingly never tired in battle, he knew that they weren’t impervious to pain and being dazed if hit hard enough in the right place. 

Gohan drove in, leading with a knee that rocked the Androids head back with a sickening  ** _CRACK. _ ** The impact threatened to send Seventeen flipping back had it not been for Gohan’s hand shooting out at the last second and catching him by the foot. 

“Son-of-a- **bitch** !” Seventeen cursed in pain as Gohan yanked the ebony haired teen back towards him. Seventeen’s body ragdolled before Gohan’s arm came down towards the Earth below, driving the Android deep into the stone with a deafening  _ BOOM _ .

An explosion of dust erupted from the ground, surrounding the two as Gohan’s eyes narrowed to slits to fight back the debre. 

The Saiyan’s hand shot forward, aiming for where he’d last seen his opponent before firing a bright flash of energy into the ground. The dust parted immediately from the force, revealing an empty crater where Seventeen had once been.

_ Where did- _

His head snapped to the side as a fist made impact with his cheek. Gohan felt his teeth rattle from the pain, blood pooling from the inside of his mouth just as he felt a second fist bury itself deep into his abdomen.

Blood erupted from his lips as he processed the injury, his eyes wide in pain. 

_ Shit! _

Seventeen’s body shifted, twisting before his leg shot out in an attempt to take Gohan’s head with it. The Saiyan reacted quickly, ignoring the pain in his stomach as he brought up his forearm at the last second. The two limbs collided with a boom that would be expected if a speeding car slammed into a brick wall.

Gohan grunted as he felt his arm nearly buckle before he shoved the leg back, the Android staggering for a second.

The Saiyan saw his opening at that moment.

Seventeen threw out a wild, desperate haymaker as he took an awkward, unbalanced step back . Gohan slipped past it easily, dropping beneath the Android’s guard before rising with a fist that caught the twin directly beneath the chin.

Seventeen shot straight into the sky, his body flipping uncontrollably from the impact. 

Snarling, the teen righted himself, his eyes snapping towards the ground as he spat. “You little sh-” 

The rest of his sentence was lost as Gohan appeared at his side, driving an elbow into the Android’s cheek. Before he could respond Gohan was on top of him, delivering a flurry of vicious blows to his body before performing a single flip that ended with his foot driving into the top of the Android’s  _ skull _ .

Seventeen shot back to the Earth with a roar of anger and  _ pain.  _

Gohan watched his opponent rocket back to the ground, realizing that he was feeling something  _ new  _ for the first time.

He was actually  _ enjoying  _ this fight. 

Usually all he felt in a fight was  _ agony  _ and frustration; Anger at the fact that he was losing  _ again _ .

But this time, he wasn’t losing.

This time, he was actually able to  _ fight!  _ Not dodge attacks coming from both directions, anticipating one target only to be struck by the other. He didn’t have to compromise for what damage he could do before the other attacked, he didn’t have to ignore blatant openings in one Android’s guard in order to counter the other. He didn’t have to divide his attention, or be constantly looking over his shoulder. It’d been so long since he’d been able to fight  _ seriously  _ against a  _ single  _ opponent. It felt refreshing to say the least, it felt like he could actually  _ do  _ something this time...it felt like...

_ ...It feels like...I can actually...win? _

Gohan didn’t let his hopes grow too large. He still didn’t know where Eighteen was, or if she planned to pop out later…

He felt that doubt creeping up into his chest again, the internal confusion over the fact that he was actually  _ gaining ground  _ in this fight. It’d been a short exchange, but it spoke  _ volumes _ .

But...could he actually... _ destroy  _ one of the Androids?

The concept was almost foreign to him, like a distant dream he’d never actually expected to come true. He’d never genuinely thought he could do it, he’d said it plenty of times sure...but after so many years…

It was the same feeling that had swelled into his chest the last time they’d fought, the reason his rage had fled from him, the reason he’d pictured a world without the Androids, but never envisioned actually  _ killing  _ them himself.

But beside that feeling, was something new. 

The opportunity to finally achieve what he’d been fighting for all this time was staring back at him, ready to be taken, ready to be obtained.

Was he going to waste this chance?

Gohan’s hand tightened into a tight fist, hope swelling in his chest. For one reason or another, Eighteen wasn’t involving herself in this fight, which meant he had a  _ chance _ .

A confident grin pulled at the corner of his lip as he watched Seventeen’s body slap against the hard pavement, sending even more cracks shooting out from his indent in the ground.

He could see it,  _ see  _ the frustration, the grimace, the  _ pain _ . 

He watched as Seventeen rose to his feet, a cold  _ fury  _ boiling beneath the surface of his tight lipped scowl. Ice cold blue eyes locked onto onyx ones, a look of hatred so pure and unyielding written across Seventeen’s features that Gohan  _ knew  _ that his attack had hurt him.

“Ready for more?” He taunted, looking down on Seventeen with a sneer that felt good to replicate after seeing it stare back at him for so long.

“I’m ready to tear your smug face off that lopsided body if that’s what you mean.” His words were dripping with venom.

Gohan’s grin faded as his face turned serious again. “Let’s see you try."

- _ Eighteen- _

** _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-_ **

She knew that repeating that single word over and over in her head wasn’t helping the situation, but at the same time it felt like the only appropriate response for the current circumstance.

_ How the  _ ** _fuck _ ** _ did I wind up in this  _ ** _idiotic _ ** _ situation!? _

She wanted to fly off, shoot off towards where she could for the first time  _ feel  _ the fight going on. Well, she couldn’t feel her brother’s Ki persay, what Gohan had said was correct even for her. She and her brother’s Ki signatures were invisible even to each other, but she could sense Gohan’s at least.

And boy was it  _ intense _ .

It was burning with an incredible fury that Eighteen couldn’t find the appropriate words to describe it accurately. There were so many conflicting emotions there paired with the Ki, fear, nervousness, aggression,  ** _rage, _ ** especially. So many chaotic feelings that Eighteen knew that was what it must feel like to be in a fight to the death.

The only problem with flying off towards the fight was that one way or the other, it would give away her  _ lie _ . If she did try to fly off now, Trunks would likely try to follow her concerned for her safety, leaving the woman with one of two options. One, fly slowly as she should be considering that she’d only just recently ‘learned’ how to fly. This suggested that Trunks would be able to easily follow her to where Seventeen and Gohan was locked in combat and thus raising suspicions surrounding her true identity. Or two, blast off at a speed that she knew Trunks would be unable to keep up with, and almost  _ certainly  _ give away that this entire interaction had been nothing more than an act.

_ Which means… _

She was  **stuck** .

She  ** _had _ ** to go along with this for the time being or risk being found out.

_ Is keeping up this  _ ** _stupid _ ** _ persona really worth risking your brother’s  _ ** _life _ ** _ Eighteen? _

Her mind roared at itself. A large part of herself was screaming at her that  ** _no_ ** , it was obviously  ** _not _ ** worth the risk just so that Trunks and Gohan kept believing that she was in fact ‘Videl’, the normal girl just interested in learning a bit about Ki and being surprisingly good at it.

Another part of her however...told her that she would get another chance to escape, that the fight would last long enough for her to figure a way out of this mess without having to give away her true identity.

It was a much smaller voice, only barely a whisper when compared to the rest of her mind telling her to take off immediately. 

She didn’t know why.

But she’d decided to listen to that tiny voice.

She was walking up to a large, dome shaped building now, the lavender haired boy leading her towards it with a grim expression on his face.

She watched him turn on his heel, forcing a smile as they paused at the door. “This is it!” He gestured towards the structure, a forced enthusiasm to his voice. “I know that these aren’t  _ ideal  _ circumstances for seeing my house for the first time but...well,” He sighed, the act bleeding out of him.

She could see the worry in his features, the tension in his shoulders, the hurt look in his eyes.

He was  _ worried _ .

She couldn’t blame him.

So was she.

“You’ll be safe here.” He said in a dry, lukewarm tone as he unlocked the door and stepped inside, holding the door as Eighteen followed.

_ I don’t have to be here. I could leave now, fly off faster than the kid could follow and make sure Seventeen makes it out alive. _

She reminded herself for what felt like the thirteenth time in the last five minutes.

But was it Seventeen she should be worried about? She didn’t know how Seventeen compared to Gohan in a solo fight. She couldn’t sense his power, she didn’t know how strong he was by himself since every time Gohan got the edge on one of them, the other would step in before it could ever get serious. That was just how they fought, they were one entity, the Android **s** , not the  _ Android _ .

Was Seventeen stronger?

Did that mean that Gohan was going to lose this fight like he’d lost against them so many times before?

Wouldn’t that be better? Seventeen was her  _ brother  _ after all, of course she would prefer if Gohan lost.

But at the same time…

A part of her didn’t like  _ either  _ option.

Eighteen snapped out of her thoughts as she heard a set of feet running directly towards them. Her head whipped towards the sound just as a head of blue hair shot past her.

“Awk! Mooom!” Trunks complained as the woman in blue plowed into her son, wrapping him up in a tight hug.

“Oh thank Kami! I heard the attack on the radio and thought for a second that you’d followed Gohan off to fight the Androids again!” Eighteen watched emmused as the woman-or rather, Bulma Briefs she assumed, pulled her son’s head towards her and planted a kiss on the teen’s forehead.

“ **MOM!** ” Trunks shouted mortified, pulling himself free of his mother’s grasp, his face a tomato shade of red.

“What? I was just wor-” Her eyes snapped to Eighteen, widening as if she’d only  _ just  _ noticed her presence.

_ I guess now is when I’m supposed to introduce myself… _

She pushed a hand towards the woman in blue. “Hello, I’m Videl, I’m the recent student your son spoke about.” She tried to push back the anxious thoughts rampaging through her mind and flash a smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Bulma smiled back before taking the hand. “Bulma Briefs, It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. Trunks talks about you a  _ lot _ .” A devious grin pulled at the woman’s lips. “But he mostly just gushes about how  _ pretty  _ you are.”

Eighteen blinked.

“ **MOM!** ” Trunks shouted a second time, his eyes wide with embarrassment.

“Yes son?” Bulma turned a head towards the teen with a smile that clearly told Eighteen she knew  _ exactly  _ what she’d done.

“You- you don’t just-” He stammered, the color in his face not dispersing any time soon. “I- you, why would-” finally he just let out an exasperated sigh, burying his face in his hand and walking away. “I’m going to the vault.”

Bulma’s smile faded as she watched her son walk down the hallway and around the corner. There was an emotion there that Eighteen couldn’t identify. There was exhaustion...but also something else she couldn’t quite figure out.

“Sorry about that.” The blue haired woman said with a sigh. “I know the situation is serious and that there’s another attack going on. I”m not trying to make light out of it…” Her head turned towards the door, almost as if she was expecting someone  _ else  _ to walk through the door as well.

Eighteen felt she had an idea who.

“I know Gohan is off fighting the Androids again...and that he’s risking his life in doing so...it’s just…” She let out a sigh. “Trunks is such a serious child. With all that’s happened, he especially hasn’t gotten to enjoy his childhood. it’s nice to see that he’s still a kid from now and then.” A sad laugh escaped her lips. “It feels good to have an opportunity to tease my son again, sometimes it’s those little moments that you have to cherish…”

Eighteen’s took this time to study the mother before her. The woman was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit like what a mechanic might wear while working on a car. Her hair was loosely pulled back into a ponytail, her face aged passed its years with stress lines and dark circles under her eyes. 

For a moment, Eighteen pondered  _ why  _ she looked so tired, so aged.

Then it hit her.

Trunks was spending almost his entire week  _ every  _ week training to  _ challenge  _ the Androids, training to one day face the two beings that had personally laid waste to the entire world.

How could a mother  _ not  _ lose sleep over something as serious as that?

_ ...I wonder if she’d stayed awake worrying over Trunks when I beat the boy unconscious a week ago... _

She found her gaze lowering. She’d done a lot more to him than just beat him unconscious. Shed  _ crushed  _ his hand so badly that it had actually surprised her to see him back to normal after only a few days. Although, not that much of a surprise given she’d seen Gohan miraculously recover from nearly fatal wounds in a matter of days before.

She wondered if perhaps the woman before her was the one responsible for these miraculous recoveries. The files Dr.Gero’s computer had implanted in her admittedly didn’t have much on the personal matters of Bulma Briefs. His spy bots had chosen to primarily focus on Goku and his fighting companions over some simple bystander. But that didn’t mean that Eighteen had been completely unaware of the woman before all of this. She was, or rather,  _ had  _ been the owner of arguably the richest and most successful company in the entire  _ world  _ before she and her brother had turned up.

Of course, that company hadn’t lasted long following the rise of she and her brother’s reign on the world. 

Eighteen didn’t know  _ exactly  _ what had happened. She’d never been big on following politics or the actions of multi-billion dollar corporations, but she’d learned enough from the little she’d heard to gain a vague idea of what had happened to the woman’s wealth.

Eighteen had thought it strange that shortly following many of her and her brother’s initial attacks that the cities they’d destroyed would miraculously rebuild, sometimes in only a matter of  _ days  _ after the initial event. New buildings, new roads, new cars, new businesses, it was as if overnight it all flashed back into existence as good as new. For a day or two Seventeen had even said that maybe magic actually existed and was granting wishes.

Eighteen had later learned on the News what was  _ actually  _ going on since magical wishes were obviously not possible. Capsule Corp had stepped in and provided the new homes, structures, and infrastructure for absolutely  _ free _ . Sure, it had cost them millions to achieve, but when a company had as much money as Capsule Corp had, a few million Zenni was a drop in the bucket for them. They had the money, the resources, and the  _ technology  _ to rebuild the cities Seventeen and she’d torn down so easily. 

What's more, Eighteen had found out that it had been  _ incredible  _ publicly for the company. A multi-trillion Zenni company stepping in and providing homes for all the victims of such brutal attacks? The entire world revered Capsule Corp and Bulma Briefs for their charity, holding them up as heroes for their work. They became an even bigger icon than they already were, not only for their incredible advancements in modern technology, but for being a good and empathetic industry willing to help the entire world with its products.

But then, the attacks didn’t stop; They continued for years and  _ years  _ following the first.

It eventually became  _ expected  _ of Capsule Corp to step in and rebuild the cities so regularly destroyed. 

Eighteen hadn’t heard much of the company after that. They’d basically fallen off the map, and eventually she’d stopped finding their brand in stores. 

The company had gone bankrupt from what Eighteen could gather, with investors pulling out after discovering that the owner of the Capsule Corp brand had no intention of stopping their charitable work and rebuilding what needed to be rebuilt in the Cities so regularly decimated. Regardless of the what the world thought of them, if you were giving away millions of Zenni worth of product nearly every  _ week _ , it would be hard to turn a profit.

Eighteen idly wondered if maybe Bulma Briefs could have still been in business today had she chosen to make some different financial choices. It couldn’t have been an investor's decision to continue handing out such ridiculous sums of money to the public for the sake of the greater good. They were a business after all, and that meant that they wanted to make money.

But a young mom who knew the fear of almost losing her child to the monsters that plagued their world? 

Eighteen could imagine  _ that  _ person making the decision to continue to help those affected regardless of what it did to their career.

“So, would you like something to drink? Maybe a little food? I know that training with Gohan can leave you with quite the appetite if Trunks is anything to go on.” The woman laughed lightly at her own joke.

Eighteen blinked rapidly, her mind being pulled away from its own thoughts. “Um, no that’s quite alright.” Her eyes wandered around the facility. “Infact, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m sure I’ll be alright if I head home now.”

_ Seventeen and Gohan  _ ** _are _ ** _ still fighting after all _

Even if she’d decided that she didn’t want to give away her true identity, she  _ did  _ still need to excuse herself of this place before she could actually get over there to help the situation.

Bulma’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Nonsense, you don’t need to be polite when it comes to the Androids.” She patted a single hand on the Android’s back. “I promise there’s no safer place than here. Please, follow me. A friend of Gohan’s is a friend of mine.”

Without another word, Eighteen felt herself being pushed deeper into the house, the door to outside growing smaller and smaller as she was lead through the long hallways of what she figured must have at one point been a lavish home but now…

Eighteen looked over towards where she could see cracks in the wall and a seemingly recently broken window.

“Oh, haha, don’t mind that. I plan to fix that tomorrow.” Bulma said sheepishly having noticed her staring at the broken home. It was still nice, it was clearly well lived in but had obviously seen better days.

Eighteen internally struggled to come up with a good excuse to leave the Brief’s residence. She knew that she needed to  _ hurry  _ or else something might happen that she would regret...one way or another. Despite knowing this, apart of her was admittedly... _ curious _ .

She was standing in the previously multi-Billionaire  _ Bulma Briefs  _ residence, and not as Android Eighteen, monster to be feared and cowered before, but as a  _ guest  _ being willingly led to what Eighteen had to assume was a safe room,or ‘Vault’ as Trunks had called it. It was a bizarre experience to say the least. She was being led to the very room  _ designed  _ to keep her  _ out _ . They were about to willingly trap themselves with one of the only two beings on the planet that they were afraid of them.

_ I could slaughter them if I wanted to.  _

The Android blinked with wide eyes as the violent thought entered her mind. It felt odd to consider since she’d committed to  _ not  _ killing so recently ago. Despite this, she couldn’t deny that it almost  _ made sense  _ to do so.

_ It would be easy. Just snap her neck and leave without another word. Trunks would be easy too, I could kill him and then Gohan would never find out that Videl was actually Android Eighteen. I’d just say that it was Android Eighteen who killed them, that Seventeen had served as a distraction and that I barely made it out alive as Trunks fought her off. _

It would free her up to go to where she knew Seventeen and Gohan to still be fighting in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t as if she  _ needed  _ these two for anything important. Gohan was the one teaching her about energy, and Trunks being the student wouldn’t know anything that he didn’t. Bulma was just some random woman that she’d only  _ just  _ met, it wasn’t like she was crucial to anything. 

_ If I  _ ** _kill _ ** _ them then Gohan would be crushed. He’d be too emotionally damaged to do anything but  _ ** _grieve_ ** _ ! _

Her brow furrowed.

And then her eyes widened.

That would actually  _ work  _ for her in this given moment. She’d already established herself as a friend, if Gohan lost these two...then he would turn towards those that were still in his life wouldn’t he? It was hard to assume given she’d never actually mourned the loss of anyone, it wasn’t like there was anyone besides her brother that was important to her.

It made sense though. If Trunks and Bulma died...that would push Gohan to come to her wouldn’t it? As long as she made it clear that she was there to support him...she could imagine Gohan turning to her in his grief. Then she’d get even more opportunities to learn from him, to get questions she had answered and finally gain enough to  _ maybe  _ actually find a way out of this ridiculous  _ nightmare  _ she’d been living.

“Watch your step! The stairs are steep haha, you can blame me on that one. I couldn’t hire a proper carpenter since those are in such high demand so I had to do it myself.”

Bulma had lead them to a single door which she pushed open to reveal a thin descending staircase that spiralled around itself as it descended. The walls were rough and clearly a more recent addition to the rest of the house, feeling much less professionally done then what Eighteen had seen prior.

It was clear to the Android that this addition  _ had  _ been formed by hand by the woman in front of her taking each step slowly. 

She might have been impressed had it not been for the fact that she was considering the option  _ very  _ seriously.

She stared at the back of Bulma’s neck intensely.

_ I could just reach out and snap it before she knew what had happened. She wouldn’t feel a thing, wouldn’t know what had happened until it was all over. _

She momentarily questioned why it had mattered to her that the woman’s death didn’t hurt.

It had never mattered before.

_ I could finish her and Trunks off in a minute, two at tops. Then I could go and stop Seventeen from finishing off Gohan. Gohan would be more willing to come to me for support, and I could finally figure out what I need to do to get Seventeen to actually  _ ** _listen _ ** _ to me. _

The Android found her arm slowly raising, her open hand gradually making its way towards the oblivious woman’s neck.

She hesitated for a moment. She’d told herself that she was going to  _ refrain  _ from killing from now on. She knew that if she continued killing that it would become a slippery slope. She’d made good on that promise to herself so far, was she going to break it now?

_ It would only be two. And besides, it would be so that I could eventually convince Seventeen  _ ** _not _ ** _ to kill anymore, then no one would die by our hands ever again...wouldn’t that be worth it then? _

She frowned. It wasn’t like she had many options. She was only getting further and further into this place and soon she would be locked in a safe room where she’d be  _ helpless  _ to stop the ensuing fight going on.

Her hand slowly reached up, drawing only inches away from the mother’s neck.

_ If it means that I’m sparing thousands of others...isn’t it worth the sacrifice of just  _ ** _two _ ** _ lives? _

  
  


_ -Seventeen- _

_ Well, this certainly  _ ** _sucks ass_ ** _ . _

Seventeen thought to himself as he was forced to backpedal, narrowly avoiding a strike meant for his face before leaping over a roundhouse kick. 

_ I need to get a hold of Eighteen! _

He didn’t know what had happened, or  _ why  _ Blondie was still alive, but Eighteen  _ obviously  _ didn’t know that Blondie was still around otherwise she would have been here already, backing him up, aware of the fight. She’d have heard about the attack on the radio or the News or something, and came rushing to his aid, knowing that she’d spared Blondie and that she  _ should  _ be helping her brother beat up this  _ shit stain  _ on their otherwise perfect life.

Seventeen felt a smile pull at his lips at that realization.

At first he’d assumed that Eighteen had for some reason betrayed him, left Gohan alive to  _ spite  _ him for some reason. But he  _ knew  _ his sister, she would  **never ** do that!

...right?

_ Not like I need her though, I can take care of Blondie myself! _

He cocked a fist, driving forward only to realize too late that that Blondie had deceptively led with one kick as a mask for a second spinning kick. Seventeen hissed as he felt Gohan’s shin connect with his cheekbone and send him flying off to the side head first.

“Fuck!” He spat as he smashed through a brick wall only to have it tumble on top of him. His head felt like it was spinning as he forced himself back to his feet, pushing broken bits of brick off of his already  _ ruined  _ outfit.

_ And I  _ ** _liked _ ** _ this outfit! _

The teen snarled as glared at Blondie’s rapidly approaching form.

Seventeen shot forward to meet him, the ground beneath him breaking from the impact of his foot kicking him off.

Their forearms slammed against each other, neither side willing to give ground as they pushed against one another, their aura’s flaring as their powers raged against each other. Seventeen was first to break this stand still as he shot out his other hand, counting on the fact that Blondie was missing such a limb to defend.

_ Lopsided  _ ** _bastard!_ **

It only served to further deepen his hatred of the man when his attack was met with nothing but air, Gohan’s head having tilted to the side narrowly avoiding it’s impact.

The Android was forced to defend as he saw a knee rushing towards his abdomen, threatening to double him over in pain had he not met it with his own knee first.

The two fell into a flurry of blows, their limbs blurring with speeds so fast that the winds around them began to thrash wildly. It was a familiar routine, or at least, Seventeen thought it should be.

The two had been battling for _years_. They knew each other’s tactics, were familiar with each other’s fighting styles and habits. There were no tricks for one side to use on the other wasn’t already familiar with. It was almost a dance between the two of them, one that was executed with such an expertise that it was clear it had been rehearsed _hundreds _of times before.

Except...this time the dance was different.

_ What the  _ ** _fuck _ ** _ is going on here!? _

Seventeen thought as he slipped to the side, raising his guard in preparation for the left hook that he would so frequently defend against for such a maneuver. 

Seventeen blinked in confusion before realizing his mistake, his eyes drawing to his opponent’s left side, where an arm was  _ supposed  _ to be.

_ Damn it! _

That millisecond of delay was all it took for Seventeen to feel an elbow impact with his throat. 

“Urk!”

The Android hovered back clutching his neck with both hands, his torso doubling over in pain. 

His eyes wide with anger, he could see Gohan moving in out of the corner of his eye.

_ Not a fucking chance!  _

The twin drew back, desperate to create space he flared his aura to surround him as he shot back faster than a blink of the eye.

Only to feel a fist nearly  _ impale  _ itself into the center of his back, violently forcing his body to come to a halt.

The Android gagged as his eyes bulged out of their skull. His spine bent violently backward to yield to the fist firmly burying itself into the Android. His head slowly turned to look over his shoulder, his mouth agape in shock.

His eyes met with Gohan’s, a teal  _ rage  _ burning behind them with such an intensity that Seventeen thought he might  _ melt _ .

_ How!? _

Was all Seventeen could think before a swift kick to the side of his face sent him barreling towards the ground below. His body bounced once against the pavement before entering a scraping slide which he transitioned into a roll back to his feet.

_ How the Hell am I  _ ** _losing _ ** _ this fight!? He’s fighting me with  _ ** _one arm_ ** _ for Kami’s sake, that should make this  _ ** _easier_ ** _ ! _

He snarled as he stared up at his opponent. His  **hatred ** for the man before him had never been greater, never been more  _ viscous  _ until this point.

He didn’t understand it, no  _ couldn’t  _ understand it. It made absolutely  _ zero  _ sense. How could he be losing right now? The fight against Mr. one-arm last time had been  _ easier  _ than before, they’d beaten him with time to  _ spare.  _

He watched as Gohan slowly lowered himself back to the ground, his eyes never leaving Seventeen’s, his glare never softening. The man in orange lowered himself into a modified variation of the stance Seventeen had  _ memorized  _ from years of combat.

Then it hit him.

The  _ reason  _ he was  _ struggling  _ so much against this opponent.

_ ...he’s changed his style, he’s  _ ** _had _ ** _ to change it to fight us off. He’s been training  _ ** _without _ ** _ an arm for almost a month now...while I’m still used to fighting him  _ ** _with _ ** _ the arm… _

It was an odd thought to consider. He imagined that Blondie had been forced to learn an entirely new fighting style, and entirely new method of combat to compensate for such a substantial handicap. Seventeen was looking for attacks that would never come, strikes that could no longer be delivered.

What was worse, he didn’t have Eighteen with him this time. He’d never realized it until this moment how  _ dependent  _ he was on Eighteen’s help in a fight. He’d gotten used to her presence, realient even to the point that he’d realized that he  _ could  _ fight sloppy in some areas because Eighteen would cover him where he would otherwise falter as he would for her. He could attack wildly, leaving himself open to attacks  _ knowing  _ that Blondie couldn’t retaliate because otherwise Eighteen would be given a free opportunity to as she liked to put it ‘Wreck his shit’.

Now he was fighting without Eighteen and still using tactics that he would with her presence. Not only that, he was fighting what was practically an entirely  _ new  _ opponent that just so happened to know  _ exactly  _ what his fighting style was with entirely new methods to combat him.

They were both fighting with a handicap.

But only one of them had managed to adapt to that handicap.

Seventeen swallowed, beginning to finally feel a nervousness flood his system. His eyes twitched as understanding filled him.

He  _ needed  _ Eighteen to win this fight.

Otherwise…

Seventeen scowled, his snarl for once not directed towards Blondie, but inwardly at himself. He didn’t know how strong he was  _ power  _ wise due to Dr.Gero’s incompetence, but he’d always firmly believed that he was  _ stronger  _ than Blondie was. They’d fought one on one before, not for long intervals albeit, but long enough for Seventeen to feel confident in his ability to take the orange clad idiot by himself if it ever came down to it.

Judging by  _ this  _ exchange however…

The image of Gohan hovering in the air above him shuddered, an afterimage disappearing in a blink of the eye.

A moment later, Seventeen startled as he narrowly avoided a slicing kick meant to take his head off.

The teen snarled as he rose from his crouched position, using the fact Blondie had over extended with his kick to land a powerful uppercut to the man’s chin. He watched with satisfaction as Gohan grimaced in response, his head snapping back as he grunted with audible pain.

Following up on his opening, the Android thrusted both hands forward, building golden light emerging from them before letting the energy explode out from him.

The wave of light engulfed the man in orange, the last Seventeen has seen of him had been the look of shock registering on his face before the yellow light overtook him.

Seventeen let his energy pour into the attack, shoving as much as he could as he felt his curcates pulsing from the strain. The beam flickered out from him like a torrent of water, like a river going over a steep cliff and crashing into the pool below.

A confident smile pulled at Seventeen’s lips in that moment, the previous doubt washing away in this monstrous display of power.

“How’s that asshole!? Think you can even  _ stand  _ after an attack like that!?” Seventeen shouted out over the sound of his roaring eruption of golden energy surging forward and carrying so far that Seventeen couldn’t see the end of it. Several buildings unfortunate enough to be in the way of the energy had crumbled to its force, the Ki blast tearing through them like they had been nothing more than tissue paper.

“... **Ka-** ”

Seventeen’s brow raised.

_ Did I just hear something? _

“ **Me-** ”

Seventeen’s eyes widened in surprise. He’d  _ definitely  _ heard  _ that _ .

“ **Ha-**

The Android growled in frustration. It sounded like Blondie was  _ still  _ inside his energy beam. How the Hell was he still alive in there!? He pushed harder, his beam of energy expanding even further, his entire body tinted yellow in the reflected light.

He heard a grunt of pain from within his beam, clearly  _ that  _ had done the trick.

Seventeen’s smile returned.

“ **Me-** ”

Seventeen’s mouth went slack for a moment, his eyes now wide with shock. Finally content to let the energy beam finish, Seventeen dropped his arms to his sides, his hands tightening into balls of absolute  _ fury _ .

His eyes were unblinking when the light from his attack finally faded.

Standing there in the middle of what was a carved dip in the street, a flickering energy shield surrounding him was Blondie himself. He was breathing heavily, a gleam of sweat running down each visible part of his body, but otherwise he appeared physically fine.

_ Did he just  _ ** _eat _ ** _ my blast like it was  _ ** _nothing_ ** _ !? _

Well, even Seventeen had to admit that wasn’t entirely true. It was clear that the man had strained himself to keep the shield powered for as long as he had. It would have taken an equal force in power to keep such an Earth shattering amount of energy from hitting him. Seventeen  _ knew  _ that the man had  _ needed  _ to expend at  _ least  _ the same amount of power as he’d output to accomplish such a task. All in all, it should have been a better trade for  _ him  _ considering Seventeen knew that he would never tire from expending his unlimited supply of Ki.

But that wasn’t what was  _ terrifying  _ the Android in that moment.

Cocked back in Gohan’s only arm, was the dangerous glow of an attack Seventeen knew all too well.

“ ** _HA!_ ** ”

** _Fuck!_ **

Was all Seventeen could think as he saw a beam of energy even  _ larger  _ than his own come surging towards him barely a few feet away. The Android had only a millisecond to bring his Ki to his front, surrounding himself in an energy shield much as his opponent had moments before.

Then the beam hit.

The power boomed as it struck Seventeen’s energy shield, washing over him like a tidal wave and fully engulfing the Android in blue light. Seventeen felt himself being pushed back, his feet digging into the damaged asphalt as he was slowly forced to slide back against the force of such a massive attack.

Seventeen snarled as he felt his system surging with as much power as it could push out at any given time. Sure, he had endless reserves, but that didn’t mean that he could bring it all out at  _ once _ .

“Damn it!” The Android growled as he felt his energy giving way. His golden shield was slowly being eaten away by the blue energy, the roaring power filling his ears as his unlimited power struggled to push out enough to compensate for how much was being eaten away.

He could feel it,  _ knew  _ that if Blondie kept this up for much longer, his shield was going to  _ break _ .

** _How!? _ ** _ How is this possible!? How does he have this much  _ ** _power_ ** !?

For a moment, Seventeen could feel the stress of Gohan’s energy beam on his shield ease, beginning to lesson with intensity.

Seventeen’s cocky smile returned, although it was discretely hidden within a grimace of strain. That had been  _ tough _ .

Regardless of that fact, Seventeen knew he had won. He couldn’t imagine Gohan having any  _ more  _ reserves to fight with after releasing an attack that even overwhelmed his  _ own  _ power supply, if only for the briefest second.

“Finally feeling tired eh one-armed-wonder? Well, don’t worry  **buddy** , you’ll get plenty of rest once I  _ gut  _ you like a pig and smear your entrails across the corpse of that punk you like to bring around so often.” Seventeen snarked as he watched the beam begin to dwindle, its radius reduced to a point that he could once again see Gohan’s strained, exhausted expression.

Their eyes met.

And Seventeen could see the look of surprise and  _ panic  _ on Gohan’s face.

Seventeen’s smile only grew. 

_ This fight is  _ ** _done_ ** .

“What was his name again?” Seventeen continued to gloat, feeling the force of Gohan’s attack weaken more and more as time went on. “Oh right, it was  _ Trunks _ wasn’t it?”

Seventeen remembered Blondie shouting the name once or twice in one of their previous battles.

The Android sneered as he watched the look of despair cross his opponent’s features. A deep rooted realization that they’d both come to at the same time.

Seventeen watched as Gohan  _ understood  _ that he’d lost.

And then...something odd happened.

Seventeen had lowered the intensity of his shield, dropping it to match the power output of the attack splashing helplessly against his barrier. 

He saw the slightest  _ grin  _ pull at the corner of Blondie’s mouth.

Then, his world turned  _ white _ .

_ W-What? _

His mind flooded with confusion as for a second time he was overwhelmed with sheer, raw energy. The beam of Ki grew so large that Seventeen had to squint from it’s undeniable intensity. The previously blue hue transitioning into a pure white energy, an energy so powerful, so erupt that Seventeen realized in that moment that he didn’t have the  _ time  _ to push his own Ki into his shield to rival it.

He watched helplessly as his shield deteriorated, and the energy came rushing towards his features. 

His mind raced, confused, bewildered, trying to find an explanation, trying to find a  _ solution  _ to what appeared to be his impending doom.

He knew what had happened as he felt the energy wash over him, the magnitude of the attack finally touching his skin, finally impacting him with such a force that Seventeen felt like his chest was about to cave in as a result.

Blondie had  _ tricked  _ him.

He’d had enough energy all along, had been waiting for his moment to push it all forward, he’d brought Seventeen’s guard down just enough to ensure that  _ this  _ push would make it through.

_ ...no… _

The Android didn’t have the strength to fight it, didn’t have the power to push back as he was carried off his feet and sent flying back. His skin burned away as he felt the power surge over him.

His eyes went wide with  _ fear _ .

  
  


_ -Eighteen- _

Her body was tense, her gaze hardened as he focused on the boy before her. Nearby, Bulma’s limp form lay still in the corner of the room.

“ ** _SNORE_ ** -”

A sheepish, embarrassed smile pulled at Trunks’s lips. “Sorry about mom. She doesn’t get a lot of sleep...sometimes she just...well...collapses without realizing it.” He sighed, clear pain in his eyes. “I wish she would sleep more often…”

Eighteen provided an understanding nod in response. The mother had told them that she was just going to lie down for a moment. That had soon transitioned into a deep slumber in a matter of minutes. Eighteen imagined that the woman probably fought off sleep more often than not considering how much she must have worried for her son and potentially Gohan.

They were in a relatively small room, no larger than an average bedroom Eighteen had determined. The walls were composed of what she could only figure to be some type of steel, although it’s strange composition led the Android to consider that it may be something else. The woman  _ was  _ a genius after all, it would make sense if she’d composed a potentially stronger version of steel or so she assumed.

She and Trunks were sat across from each other at a simple wooden table with a deck of cards between them. Trunks had offered to play a simple card game, but their interest in the game had soon faded as their focus drifted towards the fight they could both feel still raging.

In the corner of the room were two simply designed beds with metal frames and a hammock like material to support the occupant in the center. Eighteen imagined that they would be the same type of beds provided to large masses of people during some type of natural disaster at an emergency center. Not ideal, but comfortable enough for people to rest in.

The rest of the room was relatively bare, with only a fridge in the corner with enough food to last a week or so and a door leading to a restroom Eighteen was content with ignoring for the time being.

Eighteen still didn’t quite understand why she hadn’t chosen to kill the two. She could feel Gohan’s power waning, feel that the battle was coming closer to its conclusion, and she  _ knew  _ that she needed to leave  _ soon  _ or otherwise accept a fate she could have prevented.

A part of her hated that she could sense energy now, it made sitting here  _ waiting  _ that much more unbearable

. It was almost like she could _feel _every attack, every impact. She could feel each time Gohan suffered an injury, the way his Ki jolted, the way it pained for just a moment, before depleting as he retaliated in ways she could only imagine. 

She felt her fingers tighten, gripping the table tightly in frustration. She  _ hated  _ the not of nervousness forming in the pit of her stomach..

Then she felt a hand rest itself on one of hers.

She looked up confused, meeting Trunks’s sympathetic gaze.

“It’ll be alright.” She watched as the boy attempted a smile for her sake, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Gohan is strong. He’ll make it out alive.”

She couldn’t tell if he was trying to convince her or himself.

She found that a part of her was hoping the exact same thing.

The Android felt another question boiling within her. “...Do you think he’s strong enough to win?”

It was a foolish question. Of course he wasn’t strong enough to win against  _ both  _ of them. 

Then again, it wasn’t both of them that he was going up against, was it? 

But Trunks didn’t know that. He thought that Gohan was out there, fighting off both the Androids like he always did. Eighteen so deeply wished that was the case now.

She watched a frown pull at the boy’s features, his hand pulling away as his gaze did the same. “I...I want him to be.”

It was obvious why he’d phrased his answer that way. Eighteen could see the confliction in his eyes as he studied the floor with a betrayed trust. Eighteen had learned early on how much the teen looked up to Gohan. He saw the older man as his mentor, his friend, and his  _ hero _ . But at the same time, Eighteen knew that Trunks wasn’t  _ stupid _ . He knew as much as she did that Gohan was no match for both she and her brother. He didn’t want to say that Gohan was weaker, he was too loyal for that, but at the same time...

Her eyes widened, an idea rushing to her.

“...What if... _ we _ could make him stronger?”

She watched the teen shoot her a curious gaze, his lips pulling into a tight frown.

“Gohan said strictly that if I tried to fight the Androids again that he would stop training me. Besides I’m not ready to fight either of them in a fight Videl… I’ve learned that first hand.”

Eighteen struggled not to wince as she watched the teen pull his hand to his chest protectively. The same hand she’d completely  _ crushed  _ what felt like only days ago.

He continued,“I know you probably feel pretty strong now that you’ve learned how to shoot an energy blast and fly, but trust me when I say that you’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to power. It takes a whole lot longer to get strong, I’ve been learning for months now, and even I am still too weak to make a difference against the Androids.” He shook his head. “It’d be a death wish for us to go out now and try to fight the Androids off.” He sighed, clearly wishing that wasn’t the case. “We need to stay here.”

Eighteen shook her head, her mind racing with the new idea. “I’m not saying that we should go out and fight. I’m saying that we could  _ literally  _ make Gohan stronger.”

Trunks raised an eyebrow, clearly not following her.

“Earlier today Gohan showed me that it’s possible to push your Ki into another person. Now...I don’t know exactly how this all works, but what if we could do that for Gohan from a distance?” She didn’t know if that was possible, she'd literally only been shown that Ki could be transferred less than an hour ago. As far as she knew, it could only be done by touch, but if it could be done by touch, who was to say it couldn’t be transferred via other means?

It was a shot in the dark she knew, but at this point, Eighteen was willing to accept  _ anything  _ to get her over to that fight.

_ Please  _ ** _please _ ** _ let this be possible. _

She watched the teen’s eyes grow wide.

Her excitement tripled in magnitude.

“That…that could actually work…”

Eighteen couldn’t restrain her smile. “We could fly in, stay hidden, and discretely transfer our power to him as he fights. I know that we’re not nearly as strong as he is...but every little bit helps right?”

She watched the teen grow excited, excited to act, excited to finally make a difference for a change. She watched the boy shoot to his feet, before his eyes drifted to the corner of the room.

He frowned.

“But...what about mom…?”

Eighteen had to contain the annoyed expression that was threatening to consume her features. 

“We’re not going to put ourselves in danger Trunks. We’ll stay far away enough that we can get out easily if we need to. It’s not like the Androids can sense energy right?”

“...That’s right…” The boy’s eyebrows knit together. “Wait a sec, how do you know they can’t sense energy?”

_ Shit! _

Eighteen internally thought to herself as her mind raced for an excuse. “Uh...I think Gohan told me in our training or something. He’d never seen them track him by his energy signature I think he mentioned..”

She watched the teen contemplate her answer for a moment before shrugging and nodding. “Makes sense.”

The Android breathed an internal sigh of relief before standing and beginning to make her way towards the door. “We should get a move on before it’s too late.”

She leaned over and snatched the small backpack she’d brought with her, strapping it to her back tightly.

She’d made it across the room to the large, several feet thick door that separated them from the outside world before noticing that Trunks hadn’t followed her.

She turned back only to see that the lavender haired teen was still standing rooted to the spot he’d been before, his eyes looking towards his mother resting peacefully in the corner of the room.

“Trunks.” Eighteen hissed quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping woman up. “We  **need ** to go.”

The boy hesitated a moment longer before his eyes steeled over with a determined resolve and he followed her towards the door. 

He shot her one nod before he started to enter the pin necessary to open the large metallic gateway to the outside world. It almost reminded her of a typical bank door with how thick and sturdy it was.

“Let’s go.” The teen said sternly as the door slowly creaked open.

Eighteen nodded as she followed behind, listening as the door came to a slow shut behind them.

Internally, Eighteen’s mind raced as she continued to focus on Gohan’s energy, trying to gauge how the fight was going between her brother, and someone who she was quickly beginning to feel was her  _ friend _ .

_ Just hold out until I get there Seventeen...and Gohan. _

She frowned when she was sure that Trunks wasn’t looking.

_ This is going to be an absolute shit show. _

_ -Seventeen- _

_ ...ow… _

His entire body felt like it’d just been sent through the  _ sun _ , his skin felt charred to the point that his nerve endings were numb. As he slowly opened his eyes, he could even see faint tendrils of smoke drifting off his severely cooked body. There was a constant faint stinging sensation across his whole frame, except for the parts where nerve endings had seemingly completely burned away in which case were entirely numb.

_ ...where am I? _

He could vaguely make out that he was still in the city, but he couldn’t tell just how far he’d been carried by that  ** _asshole’s _ ** blast. He was nearly buried in rubble, jagged rock and broken cement dug into his already tender and stinging skin. His shirt was little more than a single strand of fabric loosely hanging off his torso, his pants only just barely surviving enough to provide cover for his genitalia and little else. His head pounded with pain, forcing the Android to grimace as he began to push himself out of the debris. The dust and smoke surrounding him made it nearly impossible to make out more than that he was currently in a broken building.

Then he fell back, his right side so numb that he couldn’t feel his arm properly.

The twin scowled in frustration.

_ C’mon body, we still have a cripple to beat up. _

He chided as he attempted to push himself up to a sitting position for a second time, only to fall to his side again.

He rolled to his right, realizing that his right arm appeared to be struggling to cooperate with him. It felt like it was limp at his side, most likely still in shock and attempting to recuperate much like the rest of his body was.

_ Come on arm, let’s get up now! _

He focused his attention on the limb, willing his systems to redirection their efforts towards it.

He waited to get feedback from his arm, a response telling him it was good to move again as his legs and left arm had done several moments prior.

Nothing.

His brow furrowed.

He reached his left arm across his body, feeling for his bicep to try to rub some sensation back into the limb..

His hand slapped against his ribs.

_ ...What? _

Panic began to set in. Eyes wide, his left arm began to reach up and down where his other arm  _ should  _ be, before it reached up and felt at his shoulder.

His mouth went dry.

There, he could feel loose circuitry awkwardly sending power to where his right arm  _ used  _ to be.

Slowly, his eyes turned to his shoulder. The smoke and dust slowly settled, revealing what Seventeen had already known to be true.

His arm, his right arm, was  _ entirely  _ missing.

The Android remained motionless, his eyes locked onto where his right arm had once been, his voice was silent as he slowly began to process what he was seeing.

_ ...my arm...is gone. _

He slowly blinked.

_ My  _ ** _arm _ ** _ is  _ ** _gone!_ **

Seventeen’s remaining limbs scrambled at that moment, forcing him to a standing position while his eyes never wavered from his severed shoulder. Waves of pain signals were rushing to his brain, pulling his lips into a tight grimace.

He stood there, motionless, unable to move, unable to react to what his eyes were telling him. 

_ ...No… _

He couldn’t understand it. It didn’t make  _ sense _ ! How could his arm be gone!? Sure, he’d pulled it over his head to protect himself last second, but that didn’t mean- it shouldn’t justify that his arm was...what?

His mind raced as he stared at the missing component to his person. 

Finally, his mind snapped back into place as he body trembled with emotion.

“ ** _NOOO!_ ** ”

He bellowed as his other hand clenched into a tight fist. The Android fell to his knees in that moment, his mouth stammering with unintelligible nonsense as he tried to rationalize to no one in particular that this  _ could not  _ be happening.

“Wha- how did- you- it can't be-” His head slowly shook side to side in denial.

Then his form froze stiff as he felt a familiar glow fall upon him. Turning his head forward, he saw a face he knew all too well, golden flames reaching out and casting a yellow light on his form.

Blondie was staring at him, but not with the usual tight lipped grimace that Seventeen hard learned expect so often, but with a look of genuine  _ surprise _ .

It would have been  _ funny  _ had the situation been anything but.

Judging from his wide eyes and generally stunned demeanor, Seventeen could tell that even  _ he  _ hadn’t expected this.

For a moment, Seventeen felt  _ fear _ . Fear from the person who’d just wounded him in a way so drastic that he didn’t know if he could ever recover from it, fear from the person who’d just managed to overwhelm his very own energy output, fear from someone who’d actually managed to  ** _hurt him_ ** .

Then, his face tightened, and the Android  ** _snarled_ ** .

No, he wasn’t afraid, he was  ** _livid_ ** .

“You sack of absolute dog shit!” Seventeen spat as he glared at the man responsible for taking his arm. “I’m going to rip you apart **_limb_** from **_limb _**and beat your bloody bean body with your **_own legs_** until you’re nothing more than a black and purple dead potato person!”

It wasn’t his best insult admittedly, but he was too overwhelmed by  ** _rage _ ** to try and think up anything better.

Without a moment of secondary thought, the Android shot forward cocking his remaining fist back, his snarl baring teeth.

_ -Eighteen- _

They were flying  _ painfully  _ slow to her standards as they made they’re way towards where they could sense the battle still raging. As they grew closer, Eighteen could see fewer and fewer buildings still standing, eventually, rubble became the new norm with rising fires and dust clouds littering the view.

Then they saw it.

A beam of energy so large, so bright that it almost made the sky appear dark by comparison. Eighteen found herself shielding her eyes as Trunks did the same. It carried on for several seconds longer before eventually dissipating. Eighteen could sense that Gohan’s energy was reaching a critical low now, barely at a quarter of what it had been at the start.

_ Have to move quickly. _

She thought to herself as she noticed Trunks pause ahead of her. He turned back to her, a nervous expression on his face before extending a single open hand towards her.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Give me whatever energy you can spare now and get out of here. Bringing you here was a bad idea. You’re not experienced enough yet to be in a fight like this.”

She snickered. “What, and you are?”

She watched him bristle at the comment before frowning. “Look, I’m being serious here. You’re practically new to all this energy stuff. Give me what you can spare, and I’ll make sure Gohan gets it along with my own energy.” The boy took a deep, shaky breath; obviously nervous, but unwilling to back out now. “Please, just listen to me.”

Eighteen eyed the teen for a few seconds longer, her mind forming new plans as she considered what she would need to do next. A reluctant smile eventually pulled at her lips.

“Alright. But you get out as soon as you can you got that?” It sounded like the right thing to say in this situation. 

Much to her surprise, it had come naturally.

He nodded, a weak smile playing at his lips. “Of course.”

She reached out and took the boys hand, absentmindedly noting that it was the same hand she’d crushed not two weeks prior.

The last time she’d been holding this hand, she’d been shattering it.

This time, she was helping it.

_ Huh, ironic. _

She closed her eyes as she began to slowly replicate what she’d felt Gohan do for her less than an hour ago, before stopping immediately.

_ Wait…my energy isn’t  _ ** _my _ ** _ energy… _

The Ki she had to offer didn’t feel like _real _Ki, in fact, it was so artificial that neither Gohan or Trunks could even sense it if they tried. What if she attempted to transfer some of it, and it immediately gave away the fact that she wasn’t who she claimed to be, what if she pushed her energy into Trunks and he detected that she was an Android?

_ What other options do I have!? _

It wasn’t like she could just refuse and  _ leave  _ all of a sudden.

_ ...there is that little bit of energy that isn’t from Dr.Gero… _

It was her ‘human’ half as far as she could tell. In comparison to what she really had to offer, it was  _ pitiful  _ to say the least. A tiny speck in comparison to the powers being tossed around her, like a single droplet of rain hitting a massive lake.

_ Well...I guess I am ‘new’ aren’t I? _

She reached out and took control of that speck of energy that she could recognize as herself. It was harder than she’d expected it to be to draw upon it, but eventually she did and pushed it forward, channeling it through her arm and forcing it out of her body and into the boy’s hand.

And much to Eighteen’s surprise, she actually felt  _ exhausted  _ from the act. 

_ What the-? _

Her vision began to cloud with dark spots as suddenly her head felt too heavy for the rest of her body. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself rushing towards the ground below before a set of arms caught her.

_ ...what? _

Her vision returned to her moments later, the dizzy feeling rapidly leaving her before she looked up and realized that  _ Trunks  _ was currently  _ carrying  _ her.

The woman immediately scrambled out of his arms.

“Hey! Careful! You’ll exert yourself too much!” Trunks reached out, trying to steady her by the arm as the two floated in the sky.

“I’m...fine…” She responded as she took flight again, feeling Dr.Gero’s programming take over for her. “Really, I’m okay.” She pulled her arm out of the boy’s grasp.

She watched him study her for several seconds longer, his eyes concerned as he stared.

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping Gohan right now with  _ our  _ energy?”

_ Boy did that feel weird to say. _

“Right.” He turned away from her. “Stay safe.” He shot her one final glimpse before taking off in the direction they’d seen the massive beam of Ki.

Eighteen watched him go, waiting for a few moments longer before turning and moving at her  _ true  _ speed towards where she could see  _ most  _ of a building still standing.

The ceiling had caved in, but that only gave the woman an easier time entering as she set down. Immediately, the woman slipped the backpack off her shoulders before reaching inside and claiming its contents. Inside were her ‘normal’ clothes, a dress attire that would make sense for her normal self to wear. Her signature denim jacket with the sleeves torn off and skirt paired with tights and a long sleeve undershirt. 

She quickly got dressed, knowing that each second she wasted would be that much longer Gohan would have to  _ survive  _ against her brother. If the fight was still going on now, that meant that Seventeen had to be winning considering that he would never tire.

She closed her eyes, reaching out to sense Gohan’s energy.

It was low, dangerously low in fact. It was barely a quarter of its typical self, and Eighteen knew that he would likely only lose more as the battle progressed.

She began to slowly rise out of the building before hesitating. Her entire plan had been centered on  _ getting here _ , but now that she was here, she realized that she had  _ no idea  _ what she was going to do when she finally got involved.

_ I need to somehow convince Seventeen that we need to retreat...or maybe I could give Gohan an opening to escape? _

Over the many years of battle, the one thing she  _ knew  _ about Son Gohan was that he was excellent at slipping out of their grasps at just the right time. 

_ Ofcourse, that’s assuming that if he does get the chance to get away, he’ll take it. _

Their last fight had ended...less than spectacularly for the young man. She’d noticed how he’d been so much more  _ aggressive  _ in their past fight, it looked like he’d spent everything he had in that effort. It had been a  _ far  _ departure from his typical tactics, and one that had thrown her for a loop initially if she was being completely honest.

Was that the case here? Was he throwing himself at his enemy with reckless abandon again? Eighteen wasn’t so sure. The fight had been waging for some time now, and due to only  _ now  _ learning how to sense life energy, she couldn’t tell if this was typically how low Gohan’s power would be in a fight lasting this long.

She stretched out her senses a second time, this time searching for Trunks instead.

She scowled.

The boy was making slow progress towards the fight, clearly proceeding cautiously assuming that Gohan was fighting two opponents instead of just one.

_ Get your ass over there you little punk! _

She growled as she continued to wait. That would be the plan. She would wait until Trunks was able to deliver the power and then she would rush in. The boy’s Ki was barely anything compared to the power Gohan was throwing around, but it was still  _ something _ , and in order for her to make this look convincing, she needed Gohan to be as strong as he could be.

_ Speed it up kid, I need to wrap this fight up  _ ** _quick._ **

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:  
~Sigh~
> 
> Alright I’ll address this first because I know that there are those of you planning to write me a review about this ‘mistake’. I know that in the original Manga it was stated that Seventeen was stronger individually than Gohan was. Now, in my defence, when the Anime special adapted it this fact was left out and the fights always left the impression that Gohan was fractionally stronger than one Android but was overwhelmed by two. Like how during the short one on one between Seventeen and Gohan it appeared that Seventeen was taken aback from Gohan’s strength before deciding to let Eighteen jump in. I always prefered this basis for the power scaling of these characters to each other, and for the purposes of this story, that will be the canon for this fanfic. also, its kinda already been established in this story that part of the reason Gohan keeps losing is he doesn't see himself winning. But when the task has just been cut down to half its typical size...well that would boost anyone’s confidence wouldn’t it?  
I hope that satisfied those of you who felt the power scaling for the characters was off.
> 
> Not much else to say here. Writing out Eighteen in such an internally stressful situation was very interesting for me to write. Writing out Seventeen’s revelation that his arm is gone was also particularly fun for some reason. Please post a comment if you want to praise or insult me! I love both!(not equally, but I still love em both!)
> 
> I will personally respond to each and every comment


	11. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle between Gohan and Seventeen reaches its climax as Eighteen does her best to save those most important to her, knowing both cannot come out the victor.

_ -Gohan- _

The young Saiyan felt a…  _ strange  _ sensation washing over him as he easily slipped past the awkwardly placed punch, driving into Seventeen’s guard and slamming a bone rattling punch into the Android’s rib cage.

“Tricky fighting with one arm isn’t it?” Gohan taunted as Seventeen staggered back, gasping from the impact. “Takes a while to figure out your balance again and how you need to distribute your weight with every attack.”

It wasn’t a feeling that he’d never experienced before, but rather, a feeling he wasn’t used to feeling in  _ this  _ specific situation.

“Shut the fuck up, loser!” Seventeen snapped, before throwing out a kick designed to drive the Saiyan’s head back. Gohan easily caught the foot inches away from his face before violently shoving the limb back. He watched as Seventeen stumbled, attempting to catch himself before realizing all too late that he wouldn’t be able to support his right side, and clattered to the ground.

He lifted his single outstretched hand, a building yellow light centered in his palm.

He watched as Seventeen’s eyes bulged, a panic washing over him.

Gohan smiled as he let loose the energy, forcing it collide with Seventeen and sending the Android flying back from the resulting explosion. 

It was a feeling that was tying itself to the sense of  _ euphoria  _ currently flooding his body.

For the first time in  _ years _ , Gohan felt certain that he was going to  _ win _ .

A part of him thought that this had to be a dream, but then again, his dreams were never  _ this  _ nice to him. A part of him felt like it was going to all come crashing down, that Eighteen would pop up and ruin all of his hard work. He’d felt that way for the entire fight leading up to Seventeen’s injury. He’d felt  _ certain  _ that he would get rushed before he had a chance to do any real, substantial damage.

But that hadn’t happened.

And now Seventeen was down one arm.

Gohan could tell that the Android had no idea how to fight missing such an essential limb. His attacks were all off balance, his blasts weaker due to being used to channeling his power into both hands. Overall, Gohan  _ knew  _ that he could take him out now if he wanted to.

But that lingering fear in the back of his mind, the lingering fear that Eighteen  _ would  _ still pop out and stop him prevented him from fully committing, from pushing his reserves to do the actual deed.

Part of him still couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

And another part of him, a part of him that he didn’t want to admit he was  _ listening  _ to right now, wanted to  _ savor  _ this moment.

Seventeen picked himself off the ground, snarling once more before stretching out his open hand and firing a barrage of blasts towards him.

The barrage was slow and left the Saiyan with more than enough time to sway between the blasts, pushing forward as he nimbly dodged or deflected the projectiles.

Gohan had to admit he could see the logic of such an attack-it was designed to push the opponent away, and with  _ two  _ hands he could see it working.

But with one?

The son of Goku shot forward, batting away the final blast before ramming his elbow into Seventeen’s cheek. The Android staggered, stepping back with a single foot before throwing out a wild haymaker in response. Gohan’s forearm stopped the blow before the Saiyan slammed his forehead into Seventeen’s nose.

“Grrk!” The twin grunted as he closed his eyes in a tight grimace.

Gohan’s smile was wide now as he leapt off the ground and threw out a kick that imprinted his foot into Seventeen’s face.

Then his eyes widened in surprise.

Seventeen’s hand had raised and was aiming a golden ball of energy  _ roughly  _ at his chest. Eyes still closed and with a foot currently obscuring his view, Gohan realized that this was a  _ gamble _ .

And it worked.

Without time to dodge, Gohan felt the energy collide with his chest. The young man was sent flying back, all the while he attempted to push his energy to the point where he could feel the attack burning away at his torso. The effort granted him a slight relief to the pain before he felt his back slam straight into a concrete wall and an explosion washed over the rest of his body.

_ Damn it! _

The attack had hurt, but it was only one in a long list of injuries he’d accumulated during this battle.

This battle that had spanned over  _ years _ .

A battle he felt determined to finish.

The Saiyan rose, his shirt in shambles, as he stared across what had once been a city filled with people. He’d checked earlier, but knew that no one was around anymore. It had allowed him to cut loose and not worry about damaging buildings with people in them. Buildings could be replaced,  _ life  _ could not.

But that didn’t stop him from checking again, just to make sure.

_ You should be focused on the fight, moron. No one is going to be _

His eyes widened.

His head snapped to the side where he could sense a  _ familiar  _ presence within a nearby structure, one of the few that hadn’t fallen yet.

Inside he could faintly see a blue set of eyes looking back at him. 

_ Damn it, Trunks! What will get you to finally listen to me!? _

He’d almost shouted the boy’s name in frustration, but thought against it considering that Seventeen was slowly rising as well, having been launched away from the force of his kick. He didn’t want the Android trying to take a hostage in the middle of the fight.

_ ‘Leave,’ _

He quietly mouthed towards the window he could see Trunks lurking behind, the top of his face only barely peeking out enough for his eyes to be visible.

Much to his surprise, he saw the boy raise a single thumb up and nod.

Gohan arched an eyebrow, surprised at the boy’s immediate compliance before he felt something.

It was  _ energy _ .

Trunks’s energy, and a drop of… something else.

... _ Videl? _

A brighter smile pulled at his lips before he eventually started to laugh. 

“The fuck is so funny, asswipe?” The Android hissed as he stared daggers at him.

Gohan did note that he hadn’t  _ approached  _ him, however, seemingly content with staying where he was several meters away.

Gohan had to stifle his laughter. “You ever get those days where everything lines up perfectly for just one moment; where it’s like the universe itself is all but ordering you to complete a task?”

Seventeen chose to glare at him in response.

He glanced over to the teen, who he could see was staring over at Seventeen with wide, shocked eyes. He waited until he caught Trunk’s gaze and held it, his stare silently telling him to leave.

Trunks caught the look immediately and backed away, obviously making an effort to retreat quietly.

“Well,” he continued with a dark smile, feeling the last of Trunks and Videl’s reserves pour into his own, “This whole fight, I’ve been looking at this like it wasn’t real, like something would arrive and stop me, to get in the way of me finishing you off once and for all. But I just got the final sign that told me that fear isn’t going to be realized.” he let the sentence drift before continuing, “Seventeen, today nothing is going to stop me from  **killing you** .”

_ -Eighteen- _

_ Finally! _

She silently exclaimed as she felt the boys energy bleed away and Gohan’s rise a similar amount. She waited only a few moments longers as she sensed Trunk’s presence growing farther before shooting straight upward, blasting through the cracked remains of the building’s roof.

Her hair flew back as her petite frame shot through the sky, creating a sharp boom as she split the air. A moment later, she was there, floating above where she could feel Gohan’s waning energy below. 

_ Just hold on a little longer, Gohan, I’ll figure a way out of this for- _

Her eyes slowly absorbed the sight before her..

For a moment, she was entirely baffled, so much so that her head tilted to the side in confusion.

She watched as her brother shot forward, a tight grimace pulling at his features as he threw out an elbow meant for Gohan’s chin. 

His  _ only  _ elbow.

_ ….What? _

Gohan rapidly fell back narrowly avoiding the strike, his knees pulled to his chest before both shot out and collided with Seventeen’s chest.

Eighteen watched her brother’s eyes bulge as he gasped before his body ragdolled, sent flying back like a ballistic missile before tearing into an unfortunate pickup truck at the end of the road.

Eighteen felt the heat of the explosion on her face a moment later.

_ Seventeen… _

She watched as her brother staggered out from the car several seconds later, tearing himself free from the burning wreckage with weary, exhausted movements. All the while Eighteen’s eyes were on the massive gaping hole where Seventeen’s  _ arm  _ used to be. She could see a red, black liquid splattering in irregular bursts as he rose from the burning scraps of metal, all the while his face couldn’t hide the amount of pain he was in.

_ ...Seventeen ...is losing? _

Her eyes slowly pulled away from her brother’s ragged, beaten form to inspect Gohan.

He wasn’t in much better shape by the looks of it, she could identify a number of bruises littering his upper body and face as well as several cuts where his Ki had failed to shield him for only an instant. The entire top of his Gi had torn away, revealing years of deep, dark scars.

She’d seen them before.

She was half responsible for making them.

Then she realized that she wasn’t the only one staring. Her gaze rose from the man’s chest and met with wide, teal colored eyes. He was staring at her with a look that resembled  _ worry _ .

“Eighteen!”

The woman’s head snapped towards the call of her name. She saw Seventeen, looking up at her with a joyful expression on his face.

“Took you long enough!” His voice had a mixture of rage laced into it now, she could already figure out that he partially blamed her for the loss of his arm.

_ I mean...is he wrong? _

She wasn’t sure.

Her head turned back to where she’d last seen Gohan, except--he wasn’t there.

Where’d he--?

Eighteen’s eyes snapped to the far side of the street where she could see Seventeen’s attention had pulled away from her and was now on the raging bullet of yellow flame streaking down the road towards him.

_ Fuck! _

She thought quickly before her own aura exploded around her and she shot towards Seventeen.

Eighteen could feel her senses  _ overloading  _ with energy. She could feel it burning off of Gohan like a blazing inferno as he raced towards her brother. His aura had erupted all around him, snapping at the air above in violent thrashes. She could feel the last of Gohan’s ki burning away like a flash fire as he sped towards her only family. His arm was pulled back as his palm was a rapidly growing orb of blue energy, swirling within itself as it continued to siphon the last of the fighter’s strength. 

_ He’s trying to take out Seventeen before I can stop him! _

She could see ahead of her Seventeen was preparing himself, rapidly raising a shield in defence, but she could already tell that it was a frail one. She could see in his face that his concentration was divided between ignoring the immense pain she had to assume came with losing an  _ entire arm _ and trying to gather his energy properly. A golden shield flickered weakly to life around him.

She could already tell it wouldn’t be enough. 

Eighteen continued to push as hard as her systems could accommodate, racing towards her brother to intercept the man who, just an hour ago had taught her how to sense energy for the very first time.

Time felt slow as she pushed towards her sibling, despite them each moving speeds faster than the standard naked eye could even perceive. She could see that she was gaining on Gohan, his energy was too low to compete with her’s anymore, but he’d picked his moment well. She bet he’d moved the moment she’d taken her eyes off him, knowing that he’d gain the best lead if he had.

He’d gained a  _ significant  _ lead.

One she was uncertain she’d be able to make up in time.

_ No, no, no, no,  _ ** _NO!_ **

Her eyes filled with panic at that moment, her mind filled with the images of what would happen to her brother if that sphere of energy connected.

She didn’t know if it would kill him, but Gohan seemed to think it could.

Just past Gohan, she could see the look in Seventeen’s eyes.

There was terror there, suppressed by the desire to appear fierce, but still easy to decipher.

He believed it could kill him too.

Eighteen desperately surged after Gohan, her mind filled with terror as she finally grew close enough to reach the fighter. She stretched out her arm, hoping to grab him before he could reach her brother.

Then they impacted.

Eighteen felt her hand grasp a hold of the man’s bicep in that moment as the blue orb slammed into Seventeen’s hastily crafted energy shield. She could see the golden energy protecting her brother waver, beginning to buckle to the presence of this new force.

She responded by immediately and violently tearing Gohan’s arm away from her brother, pulling with all the strength she had to give.

Then her world went white.

She felt the Gohan’s violent, destructive energy wash over her, burning away at her skin from all sides before she rapidly pushed her Ki to surround her, shielding herself as she felt the apex of the blast ripple through her body.

Her face contorted into a painful grimace as she was launched back. Her arms pinned to her chest from trying to raise a guard at the last second, she found herself helpless to stop her momentum until a powerline decided to solve that issue for her. 

The woman was immediately scrambled back to her feet, shooting into the air a moment later as she rocketed towards where she could see the crater where Gohan’s attack had detonated.

She saw the man lying on his back, his aura gone, his hair back to its normal jet black hue. She took a second to stretch out her senses and feel for the man’s Ki. After a few moments she tell that he was indeed still alive, even if his Ki was barely strong enough to fend off  _ Trunks  _ at this moment.

Eighteen didn’t know if she should be relieved or angered by the fact that he was still alive.

She chose to ignore him for now as her eyes searched desperately for her brother. Her eyes lingered on the spot she’d last seen him before searching behind it towards where she assumed he’d been blown back.

She found him in a pile of rubble that had once resembled a small coffee shop.

His body was lying awkwardly in the brickwork, his face revealing utter exhaustion as he continued to stare up towards the slowly darkening sky, making no movements to free himself. 

She landed beside him a moment later.

“Are you okay?” She said struggling to mask the panic in her voice.

His eyes slowly turned to her. “...I want you to take one hard look at me and tell me how well you think I’m doing.”

She watched as the remains of his right shoulder sent out a violent electrical shock.

“...Fair enough.” She muttered as she took hold of his hand and slowly began to pull him out of the rubble. She winced as she watched his face adopt a tight grimace from the act.

“He really messed you up good…” she said taking a step back and inspecting her brother. ‘Messed up’ was an understatement to say the least. The entire upper half of his shirt was gone, revealing a torso covered in scrapes and as well as other substances, she assumed most being a result of being sent through a car.

Of course, his arm, or lack thereof, was what concerned Eighteen the most. Neither of them had ever suffered an injury as serious as this. Hell, neither of them had ever suffered a serious injury of any sort when facing down Goldilocks. 

They’d always viewed the man as an inferior, something to be played with, but never as a legitimate threat. 

And now he’d done  _ this _ . 

She could tell by the worried look on Seventeen’s face that he was just as clueless as she was when it came to what they should do next. It was clear by his demeanor and ability to rise and move about that he wasn’t going to  _ die  _ from the wound… probably. The fluids that had been bleeding out of him seemed to have clotted, likely a design choice from Gero himself, so that the only lasting affect was the occasional electrical discharge from his shoulder. It was a bizarre sight to see she quickly realized as she stared down at the open wound. Neither of them had ever seen what their internal organs looked like before. A part of her had even chosen to believe that she was still  _ mostly  _ human. Now that she could see the metallic components uselessly hanging out from her brother’s stump… she knew she was not. The sight also raised a single  _ other  _ question that she knew must have been running through both of their minds now.

_ Is there any way to fix this? _

Was this the way her brother was going to be now? Down one arm, forever hindered in a fight? Forever broken at least to some capacity? What did that mean for his overall lifespan? Would those fluids he’d lost regenerate or had he lost something important to his system? 

There were so many questions she realized  _ neither  _ of them had an answer to.

It wasn’t like either of them had the phone number of any genius robotic scientists or Dr. Gero’s level of expertise. 

Eighteen blinked, the face of a familiar blue haired woman pushing to the forefront of her mind.

“Is that  **asshole ** actually still  _ alive _ ?” She heard her brother snarl.

She turned her head in response and saw that Gohan’s arm had shifted so that his hand was over his face, covering his mouth for some reason.

“I think I’m gonna see to his death  _ personally  _ this time  **Eighteen** .” He said as he eyed her with a narrowed glare.

The woman didn’t meet his gaze as he did. The accusation was clear as day. A part of her was worried about what her brother was thinking of her right now, of what conclusions he was coming to about her involvement in this whole fiasco.

But that was only a small part.

A much larger part of her mind was internally worrying about how she was going to get Gohan out of this situation now that he was basically KO’d. Another part of her felt that she shouldn’t be caring about the man who’d _critically wounded_ her brother and, moments, earlier nearly _killed _him outright had it not been for her involvement. Her senses stretched out and felt for Gohan’s power once more. It was calm and weak now, but she could still _feel _it-- feel the energy of the man who’d been kind enough to teach her this magical ability only hours before.

The woman felt a knot of anxiety forming in the pit of her stomach.

There was a pregnant pause between the two as Seventeen waited expectantly for an answer that Eighteen knew he wanted. He wanted an explanation for why Gohan was still breathing, why she’d told him that the man was dead, why his  ** _arm _ ** was now  _ missing  _ because of it.

“...You’re really gonna stand there and not tell me what the fuck is going on here?” He snapped, pointing a finger out towards Gohan. 

_ If only you knew… _

She thought with a grim sense of humor. Electricity suddenly spat out of his arm in a violent surge as he did.

Eighteen could see his face wince every time he did it. Was it from him trying to move an arm that wasn’t there? She couldn’t tell.

However, she had noticed  _ one  _ thing upon her arrival…

“Seventeen,” She frowned. “Is your power...weaker?” A part of her response was concern, another was to attempt to change the topic.

She’d noticed it from the way he’d struggled to bring up a shield in time for Gohan’s attack, something that neither of them should have struggled with given the situation. 

She noticed her brother smother a bristle at the comment, looking away with an irritated glare as he did. He chose to respond to her question in the same way she had to his, in silence.

Even so, he’d answered her enough. His response told her that the damage  _ had  _ made him weaker, and he knew it. A result of power surging to a non-existent limb? The loss of whatever that strange blackish, reddish fluid had been? The reason could only be speculated. 

_ Damn it… _

But maybe that would make things easier. The way things were, Eighteen knew she had to be stronger than her brother. She’d definitely be able to fend him off in his current state if--no-- _ when  _ he decided to walk over and finish the man who’d been her mentor.

She watched as Seventeen wordlessly walked past her, his eyes trained on the man still lying on the ground. She could see that he’d let his hand fall to the side. It looked like he was saying something to himself now, his jaw motioning up and down.

_ ...or is he chewing something? _

What in the world would Gohan be chewing on in the middle of a fight? Did the Golden Warrior have a favorite brand of gum or something?

Eighteen frowned as she immediately caught up with her brother. As they began to travel the short distance to where Gohan was still lying on the ground, the woman began to internally panic as she tried desperately to come up with a plan that  _ wouldn’t  _ involve fighting her own brother now.

_ Should I just let him do it? He was almost  _ ** _killed _ ** _ by Gohan...doesn’t that mean that he  _ ** _should _ ** _ get to kill him now? Why am I even debating this right now! _

She thought angrily to herself.  _ Seventeen  _ was her brother,  **not ** Gohan.  _ Seventeen  _ had nearly been  ** _killed _ ** by Gohan. Why then, was this such a hard choice for her to make?

_ This is so stupid! _

It was obvious what the right answer was--that she should be siding with her brother and let this man who nearly murdered her only family die.

Except...she didn’t  _ want  _ to side with her brother.

He’d told her that he was going to take a break from killing. That he would wait for her to explain things to him.

He broke that promise. 

Meanwhile, Gohan had merely done what he’d always done, fought to protect, to save the last survivors of his pathetic race. He’d fought to save everything that they threatened to take away. He hadn’t sought out her brother and attacked him maliciously, in fact, he’d  _ never  _ even attempted to hunt them down.

He fought because he  _ had  _ to fight.

Because if he didn’t rise up to the challenge...no one would.

How could she resent him for that?

“...Seventeen, hold up a minute-” she began just as she felt  **it** .

Her brother looked back at her, snapping as he did. “What?! You gonna tell me why this asshole is still-” He paused, his anger subsiding as his eyebrows furrowed. “What? What’s that look about?”

He couldn’t feel it, but she could--she could feel  _ all of it _ .

Her wide eyes pulled away from his and towards where she could feel an  _ immense  _ amount of power emanating several feet away.

_ But how? How is he doing this? _

She watched as Gohan slowly pushed himself back to his feet. The bruises, the cuts,  _ everything  _ that had been previously littering his upper chest and face were  _ gone _ now. It was as if he’d miraculously healed in a matter of moments.

And his ki was  _ skyrocketing _ .

Finally, Seventeen's head snapped towards Gohan, noticing his rise at last. Sneering, the Android began. “Oh, so looks like you’re ready for round two huh? Well guess what, this time you won’t be-”

“Seventeen, get out of here  **now** .” Eighteen’s eyes were serious, her fingers curled up into fists.

Her brother paused mid sentence, his brow furrowed as he looked back at her. “Huh? Why? There’s two of us and he’s been fighting me all day. Let’s just kick his ass old school.” He was bearing a confident grin as he spoke. 

He didn’t know.

But of course he didn’t know, how could he? Gohan was still covered in soot and blood from where his wounds had just been. The only way  _ she’d  _ noticed it was the massive spike of energy that Gohan didn’t know she could sense yet.

She had no idea  _ how _ , but the man was back to top form, reflecting the energy she’d felt back at in the desert...and then some.

“Seventeen if you’re ever going to listen to anything I have to say, listen to me now. You need to get out of here as  _ fast  _ as possible.” The woman hoped that the serious tone to her words would get her brother to listen. Gohan at full power she was rapidly realizing was a  _ huge  _ problem. She and Seventeen rarely fought each other, but when they did, it was  _ Seventeen  _ that usually came out on top. She knew that between the two of them Seventeen was ever so  _ slightly  _ stronger, and if Gohan had managed to bring her brother down to where he was now...She didn’t know if she would be enough to stop Gohan from outright  _ killing  _ Seventeen in his current state. 

_ Then...it’ll be my turn. _

Seventeen stared at his sister for a short time before a flash of golden light exploded out in front of them. A torrent of wind picked up in that moment, lashing at their clothes and faces, forcing the Android to squint.

She could see that Seventeen was beginning to realize something was up, his eyes narrowing between her and Gohan with a frown tied to his lips.

“...You and I need to have a talk after all of this.” His eyes were staring into her own with a serious tone. She knew her brother wasn’t outright  _ stupid _ , there were likely many questions arising in his mind now. All of them no doubt surrounding  _ her _ .

“Granted.” She gave. She knew that things would need to be discussed. “Now  _ leave _ .”

“You aren’t going  ** _anywhere!_ ** ”

Suddenly, Gohan was beside Seventeen, a fist cocked back ready to strike.

Seventeen staggered, his responses panicked as he feebly threw up his arm in a pathetic defense.

Gohan’s fist shot forward.

Only to be stopped by Eighteen’s forearm.

“ **Go,** Seventeen!” She roared urgently before gripping Gohan’s fist and attempting to drive her other elbow into the man’s throat. The attack failed to connect as Gohan pulled his head back, narrowly avoiding the strike before driving a knee into the woman’s rib cage.

The Android winced in pain, staggering to the side from the impact before Gohan spun, swinging out a roundhouse kick that cracked as it connected with the side of the woman’s face. An instant later, Eighteen’s form shot to the side, carried by the momentum of the attack and into the decrepit remains of what appeared to have once been a gas station.

A second later, Gohan was in front of Seventeen, driving a punch strong enough to level cities into the Android’s gut. Seventeen gagged, doubling over as his eyes bulged from the attack driven deep into his abdomen. 

A low sweeping kick knocked Seventeen’s feet out from under him before Gohan flipped, slamming the heel of his boot into the Android’s sternum and sending him straight into the ground with an impact that shattered the concrete below..

Gohan’s hand began to rapidly fill with energy as he shoved his open palm towards the injured Android.

Seventeen’s eyes grew large, a fearful expression consuming his face as he stared at the blue light so close he could actually  _ feel  _ its hum of power.

Eighteen’s foot slammed into the side of Gohan’s face a moment later before the woman followed up the attack with a ball of energy that had been building in her hand. The golden sphere impacted with the man’s chest, carrying him back before exploding in a massive cloud of dust.

Eighteen snarled as she pushed out both arms towards where the explosion had erupted. A torrent of energy blasts surged out, shooting in rapid succession resulting in a chain of explosions that created a bigger and bigger cloud of smoke as she fired.

Seventeen meanwhile lay still in a daze as he looked up at his sister.

“What are you doing!? Get the fuck out of here already!” She hissed as she continued to fire her barrage of Ki blasts. She could already tell that Gohan had managed to throw up a shield within the cloud of smoke, but she was  _ determined  _ to keep the man back for as long as she could.

She watched as Seventeen scrambled from the small crater he’d formed in the concrete and took to the air, turning the opposite direction from Gohan as he flew.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he flew...before coming to a stop. Seventeen turned back, looking down at her with a concerned expression.

_ Damn it, Seventeen! We don’t have time for this! _

“Are you going to be-”

“I’ll be  ** _fine! _ ** Now go!” She shouted, already feeling that Gohan had begun to move from within her barrage, beginning to bat them away harmlessly as he started to make his way towards  _ her _ .

_ Fuck! _

Seventeen swallowed, shooting one last conflicted look into the smoke before turning and shooting off into the sky.

Eighteen felt a wave of relief hit her in the chest as she watched her brother depart.

Then she felt a wave of energy hit her in the chest that sent her on her own type of departure, one that ended with a giant crash and a burning sensation that  _ definitely  _ ruined her shirt..

She groaned as she pushed herself back to a sitting position. She was getting  _ seriously  _ tired of getting sent flying into buildings. 

She was barely back to her feet and noticing that she’d crashed into what appeared to be a fast food chain of some type before Gohan appeared at the entrance her body had formed.

He was staring down at her with a that signature glare that she’d grown so accustomed to over the years.

...funny, it felt odd to look at after seeing how he was normally. Cheerful, friendly, kind…

Now there was murder written clear as day in his eyes along with...something else.

Her eyebrows furrowed, there was some sort of...confusion there. 

Curiosity?

“Eighteen,” He spoke sternly, a hint of disgust and resentment in his tone.

“Gohan,” She said flatly, doing her best to return the glare. All the while she was curious as to why he’d chosen to speak rather than continue the fight.

Silence filled the room as the two stayed where they were, Gohan’s golden aura illuminating the otherwise dark fast food chain. Eighteen could tell that the man was debating with himself over something, almost as if he wanted to ask a question, but was conflicted. She ,meanwhile, was debating as to whether she should attempt to take advantage of this moment and attack him while he wasn’t prepared.

She decided to wait, and see what was to come.

“Why did you spare me the last time we fought?”

Eighteen blinked, she certainly hadn’t expected  _ that  _ question.

She stared up at the man wrapped in golden flames. His eyes were narrowed, but his eyebrows were furrowed.

“What’s it matter to you?” She called back, not sure what position she should take here.

Gohan grew silent as he slowly took a step into the room, eyeing her dangerously. Eighteen felt nervousness creep into her chest as the distance between them closed. She  _ knew  _ she couldn’t win this fight on her own.

“...I guess it doesn’t matter.” He answered quietly to himself before saying much louder. 

“I’m going to destroy you either way.” 

- _ Gohan- _

Something was...different about her. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about her attitude felt... _ forced _ . It was so subtle that the half-Saiyan felt that he might be imagining it himself, but at the same time...he  _ kept  _ noticing it.

He launched a kick designed to cave the Android’s chest in only for the attack to be blocked. Eighteen snarled as she retaliated, throwing out a vicious flurry of punches to push him back, all of which he managed to narrowly avoid as he moved out of her range. 

He could see it there again, that look that didn’t seem quite right. He’d grown to know Eighteen’s expressions over the years and subsequently had grown accustomed to the typical  _ sneer  _ she would send his way whenever they engaged each other. He could sense the undeniable hatred she held for him during those encounters, the sincere  _ disgust  _ she felt for him whenever they would battle. He didn’t blame her, he returned the sentiment. 

Gohan grimaced as he slipped a punch only to be met with boot that caught him in the jaw, snapping his head back. He managed to open his eyes just as Eighteen leapt up, pulled back a leg clearly aimed for his head. He fell into a crouch, feeling the attack split the air above harmlessly as he gathered his energy into his palm.

“ **Masenko** !” he bellowed as his hand surged forward.

An enormous golden mass emerged from his arm before colliding with the Android before him. The Saiyan pulled his knees to his chest, covering his eyes with his forearm as the attack detonated, exploding and partially clipping him as it did. 

When the smoke cleared he could see that Eighteen had  _ narrowly  _ managed to pull her defences up in time, her arms crossed in front of her face as tendrils of smoke rose from various spots of her now burnt clothes.

Even now, even as she was glaring at him, he could tell that the look was somehow...different. Still intense, he could see that much…

It was almost as if part of that  _ hatred  _ she felt for him had been removed. Gohan knew that was a ridiculous idea to believe that she’d miraculously stopped hating him for no apparent reason. He knew that it was most likely all in his head, but still…

Eighteen shot forward, driving a knee into the center of his chest. The man brought up his forearm, slamming it against the woman’s shin before spinning to her outside, preparing a kick that collide against her waiting forearm with an impact that he felt rattle the bones in his leg. 

The half Saiyan pulled back his other leg, telegraphing a kick to the side of her face as he did. He watched with a grin as Eighteen responded predictably, attempting to position her other arm to stop the attack as he thrust an open palm aimed for her midsection.

“ **Hah!** ” a small ball of Ki drove into Eighteen’s stomach, prompting a cry of pain from the Android as it carried her backward. A few seconds later he watched her petite frame spin, stopping her momentum before backhanding the blast of energy into the ground.

Their eyes locked onto each other’s once more.

The half-Saiyan’s battle sense was telling him to push her, to try and overwhelm her the same way that he’d done with Seventeen. He certainly had the power to do so now, certainly had the resolve and the rare  _ opportunity  _ to fulfil this wish.

But...there was a nagging question lingering in the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite shake. He’d tried to ask it earlier to...a lukewarm response.

_ Why did she spare me  _ ** _and _ ** _ Trunks. _

She’d been given the opportunity to kill  _ both  _ of them and had decided against it. That was just not something an  **Android ** would do!

_ Shut up! That doesn’t matter right now! What’s important is that you have  _ ** _another _ ** _ Android  _ ** _alone! _ ** _ All that matters right is that you put her down for good! Everything else is irrelevant!  _

His thoughts rages against themselves as he stared down his opponent. His duty and loyalty to humanity, the side of him that wanted this misery, this  _ nightmare  _ to finally end was urging him to take his shot. Pleading--no,  **demanding ** that he blitz her and not stop thrashing the woman until her head had been removed from her shoulders.

...But then there was his  _ curiosity _ , the part of him that demanded to know more, to satisfy the thirst that he so often felt when he didn’t understand something. It was the part of him that made him learn coding from Bulma when he’d noticed her at her console one day, typing away using some mysterious language. It was the part of him that had been  _ secretly  _ excited when as a child he’d unwrap his birthday gifts and find a  _ massive  _ book covering a dense scientific or historical subject from his mom. The others upon seeing his gift would groan, so he’d learn to act as if he  _ didn’t  _ like the gift to better fit in with the gang...but the secret truth was that his mind had always  _ yearned  _ to learn more.

It was a selfish desire, and one that he was quick to push to the back of his mind.

… But then it kept coming back.

“... After our last fight, you fought Trunks by yourself without Seventeen and spared him as well.”

He studied her face as he spoke, looking for anything that might explain away these acts of mercy. Her expression was unmoving as she listened.

“Why!?” he demanded with a roar.

Silence.

He could see movement in her eyes, as if she was  _ thinking  _ of her response.

“...”

“Earlier, Seventeen told me that I was ‘supposed to be dead’, which means that you told Seventeen you killed me.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Why?”

He watched her expression long and hard, awaiting a response. He saw her mouth twitch slightly, almost as if she’d considered answering before quickly deciding to remain silent.

_ But why?  _

What had she narrowly decided not to tell him? What had she considered in the first place? It told him that there was further depth to these actions, reasons past ‘oh, I just didn’t feel like it.’.

He didn’t know what to do with that information. 

He let out a slow sigh, relaxing his face for a moment before opening his eyes once more.

He’d have to live with not knowing.

Because he was  _ not  _ going to let her get away like Seventeen had.

He charged forward, cocking back a fist as Eighteen’s eyes narrowed.

His knuckles shot out a moment later just as the Android spun around the punch, wrapping around his right before delivering an elbow that snapped his head to the side. Eighteen’s momentum carried as she continued the spin, catching Gohan in the back of the head with a violent left hook. 

Finally behind him, the woman hovered both hands at the man’s hips, her palms collecting with energy before she grinned wickedly. 

“Catch ya later, Blondie!” 

The half Saiyan felt the lower part of his spine begin to burn from the savage energy before the beam collided and he felt his back begin to violently bend the wrong direction. He was carried off his feet as he was forced forward, the lower part of his back beginning to burn away from the intensity of the attack. The man was carried into a wall on the opposite side of the room which did little to stop his momentum as he was carried through it.

It took several moments for him to gather himself, to work through the painful sensation and actually  _ do  _ something about it. Gritting his teeth he roared, forming a bead of Ki at the center of his back before rapidly enlarging it resulting in an explosive wave that blasted out in all directions. 

He let out a ragged breath, duly noting the burning sensation lingering in his lower back as he turned back towards his opponent.

...Only she wasn’t there. He looked through the hole he’d made only moments earlier to find the restaurant entirely vacant.

His brows furrowed as his head snapped to each side. Where had she--

His neck stiffened as teal eyes locked on a blonde silhouette disappearing into a large office building far off in the distance. It had only been a speck, but Gohan had seen her disappear into one of the few buildings left standing after his fight with Seventeen.

_ Wait… is she actually… running away from me? _

He blinked, confused by the concept of an Android  _ fleeing  _ from him. For one… he’d never thought Eighteen to be a coward, or rather, he never thought either of the Androids would ever even entertain the  _ thought  _ that they even  _ slightly  _ weaker in a fight. They were insufferably arrogant like that.

_ … She thinks I’m stronger than her… she’s  _ ** _afraid _ ** _ of me…! _

He felt a devilish grin pull at the corners of his mouth. A part of him, a darker, malicious part of him loved the beautiful  **irony ** that was playing out before him. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t have a  _ deep _ ,  **dark ** hatred for the pair of monsters personally responsible for brutalizing him on a regular basis. He remembered every time he’d retreat into a lone building,  _ terrified  _ of the Androids finding him,  _ horrified  _ at what they would do to him now that he was drained of all his power.

On more than one occasion, all that had been standing in the way of him and a savage end was the walls of lone building and his rapidly developing  _ hiding  _ abilities. 

Of course, he’d never gotten the chance to be the  _ hunter  _ in their games of hide and seek.

But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t  _ eager  _ to try.

The Saiyan’s aura pulsed as he tore through the sky towards the structure. He was floating in front of it a moment later, his hand at his chin as his eyes narrowed on building. It looked to have three floors.A mind who knew how to hide immediately went to work as he dismissed the first floor knowing she wouldn’t be there. It was closest to where a normal person would enter, and if she was thinking about her hiding spot, she would assume that would be likely place for him to start. He also didn’t think she’d choose the top floor--it had an obvious entrance for someone who could fly down to it. 

He eyed the center floor. Splintered but not yet broken full length windows allowed him to peer into the structure revealing several rows of cubicles and office material. 

He took a moment to wonder if she’d assume he wouldn’t break anything to get in. That he’d choose one of the traditional entrances to preserve the building. 

He’d already felt inside and detected no living energy signatures.

He chuckled to himself as he raised his open palm to the window.

- _ Eighteen- _

The woman felt like she could hear every movement she made as she huddled down beneath the desk within the many cubicles. Her knees pulled to her chest to make herself tinier, internally the woman was  _ furious  _ that she’d been forced to  _ hide  _ like a cowardly  _ human! _

She sneered at the comparison.

… But at the same time, it wasn’t inaccurate, she quickly realized. She was in a fight she both didn’t  _ want  _ to win or  _ believe  _ she could win in the first place. Gohan had managed to get the better of Seventeen. Whether that had been by fluke or not, it meant that he could very well do the same to her if she wasn’t careful.

Which unfortunately meant that the best course of action for her at that moment was to  _ hide _ .

It had hurt her pride to climb on all fours under the desk before pulling the chair in to better conceal her form.

But she knew it had to be done.

_ ...I wonder how many times Gohan has been in a situation like this… _

“...”

For a time, nothing happened. She hadn’t been certain if she’d actually managed to distract him long enough to get away without him seeing her, but every second that nothing happened reinforced the comforting idea that she was actually  _ safe _ .

Then she heard all the windows explode on her floor and jumped. She internally prayed her head hadn’t made an audible bump when it had slammed against the top of the desk.

She listened closely in the dead silence, trying to pick out where he might be before closing her eyes and focusing on his energy.

She heard the crunch of feet stepping on shatter glass.

He was  _ right there _ . 

Right at the end of the room, not forty--five feet away from her!

She internally cursed. Why the hell would he start with the second floor!?

“You’re feeling that dread, right? That terrifying feeling of knowing that ‘he’s’ nearby? That ‘he’ might know where you’re hiding because ‘he’s’ so close?” She heard him let out a dark laugh--a resentful,  _ hateful  _ laugh. “Yeah, trust me, I’ve been there.”

His footsteps began to slowly march forward, crunching loudly through the glass.

She realized that he was doing that  _ intentionally _ , giving away his position for the same reason that she and Seventeen would when they would so often hunt  _ him  _ down.

It sent a message.

It told her, ‘you are my prey’.

It told her that  _ he  _ was the one to be feared now.

Her fingers curled into tight fists as she grit her teeth, her body trembling with rage. How  _ dare  _ he try that on  _ her _ . She was  **not ** prey! She was  **not ** to be hunted! 

**She ** was the apex predator, the one to be feared, the one to be fled from.

… Right?

She listened as his feet continued to crunch through the glass, slowly drawing near.

“You’re torn between running now before I find you, getting a headstart before it’s too late or committing to your hiding place and praying that you hid well enough.” A slow darker, more resentful laugh drifted out. “Yeah, been there too, Eighteen.” He hissed the words.

Eighteen felt a shiver run down her spine. She could tell that this was  _ very  _ personal to Gohan--but of course it was.

They’d taken everything from him.

“And then… you have that  _ slow… terrifying  _ realization…” He sounded like he was walking down the aisle, drawing closer.

“That they’ve  _ found you _ .” His words were in a quiet, malicious tone. A whisper than anybody not right next to the man wouldn’t have been able to understand.

But… Eighteen had managed to hear him loud and clear.

She felt her eyes grow wide with fright. There was no way he could have found her already! She hadn’t made a sound--

Pain.

Pain everywhere. 

Eighteen felt like her body was being sent through a raging inferno as she was bathed in a massive blue light that blew her back and through the floor of the building, she let out a sharp cry of pain as she slammed into the first floor, hard concrete and sharp rubble having cushioned her fall.

“How the hell did he find me?” She groaned before rapidly picking herself up-- 

Only to be slammed face first back into the ground. 

** _Fuck!_ **

Eighteen’s head was spinning as she felt the bottom of Gohan’s foot driving into her neck, pushing her face into the floor..

She growled as she whipped a hand back, readying a ki blast only to feel Gohan’s hand grip her wrist. Her blast fired off harmlessly to the side, impacting with an unfortunate desk which promptly exploded.

She immediately attempted to throw her other hand behind her back, hoping to take advantage of her one armed opponent only to feel Gohan pull her arm back  _ hard.  _ The woman gasped in pain as her opposite shoulder was forced to the ground, her body bending painfully to the forces pulling it.

_ This is bad! This is  _ ** _really _ ** _ bad! _

She thought as she realized he basically had her pinned to the ground, his foot digging into the back of her neck as his hand bent her straight arm towards the center of her back.

“Your chair gave you away.” His voice was cold now, malicious, and especially  _ dangerous _ . “The rest had rolled out of position from the shockwaves of me and Seventeen fighting, all except yours... although I guess that doesn’t really matter now.” His grip around her arm tightened as he began to push. “All that matters is what comes  _ next _ .”

“W-what? Is taking a-arms off your ‘thing’ now?” She said through a pained grimace; trying to make light of the situation to dampen the fact that she was absolutely  ** _fucked_ ** . 

Gohan responded by bending the arm back further, prompting a cry of pain from the woman.

Eighteen’s eyes were filled with panic now. For the first time in her life since Dr.Gero  _ changed  _ her, Eighteen felt fear for her  _ life _ . 

She was pushing all of her Ki into pulling the arm away, towards  _ freeing  _ herself, but Gohan’s strength was just as much if not more than hers. Her arm trembled from her efforts.

“For my friends.” He pulled a little harder, Eighteen let out a cry of pain.

“For every person you’ve tortured, for every person you’ve killed.” His voice was gravelly and hate filled as he pressed down harder, and Eighteen let out a whimper. Struggling to twist her torso with her shoulder due to the  _ foot  _ digging into the back of her skull, she could feel her arm’s tendons beginning to tear. It was a slow agonizing pain, she was almost certain an inch more would result in permanent damage.

“For every--”

“ ** _Wait_ ** !” she exclaimed in a desperate breath. “You want me to tell you why I fucking spared you,  **right** !?”

She felt him pause.

The tension on her arm eased slightly.

“...”

“I’ll fucking _ tell you, _ just don’t fucking rip my arm off!” she called out, desperate for any way out of this mess.

Gohan’s grip on her didn’t lessen, but he also didn’t push any harder on the now sore limb.

“ **Speak.** ”

Her mind raced for an answer, both to the question and to her current situation. She couldn’t move--not without him tearing her arm off, and then she was just as screwed as Seventeen had been. She knew that he wasn’t going to release her if she told him the story--at most, she’d bought herself the handful of seconds it took for her to give him a reason.

_ Damn it! This is why we always fight  _ ** _together_ ** _ ! If Seventeen was here, he would just blast him off of me and-- _

Her eyes widened, an idea popping into her mind.

_ That’s it! _

“You want me to tell you why I spared you and that kid huh?” She repeated the question in an effort to buy time.

Gohan responded by twisting her arm again.

“ **Ow** ! Fuck! Stop it already!” The Android fired off several blasts of Ki that soared past Gohan’s head, hoping that it looked as if she was just firing off worthless Ki in frustration.

Several of the balls of ki impacted the ceiling behind him.

But not  _ all  _ of them.

“I’ll tell you! Just ease up, alright!?” She felt the pressure on her shoulder ease, but only just.

“Asshole,” She hissed as she began to focus, her eyes squinting as she concentrated on the area just behind Gohan’s head.

“...” He didn’t say a word as she felt his grip tighten around her wrist, a clear indicator for her to get on with the story.

“I spared  _ you  _ because I realized I had a  _ question  _ for you, one that I felt only  _ you  _ could answer.” With her face pinned to the ground, she could only see out of one eye behind her opponent. She felt her will double as she struggled to maintain focus and talk at the same time.

“I thought I’d get you alone by luring you out. Killing a building’s worth of people usually does the trick. Bet you can picture my face when the  _ brat  _ came instead. I didn’t kill  _ him  _ because I figured that you wouldn’t be in the best state of mind to answer my question grieving the loss of that spoiled  _ shit _ !”

She let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding as she got it in position.

_ Finally! _

“...What’s the question?” His tone was low and serious, but he still hadn’t lessened his grip on her wrist.

She felt a grin pull at her lips.

“Are you really this stupid?”

“...!”

“Seventeen!  **Now** !” She shouted, indicating with her eyes that she was shouting at something  _ behind  _ him.

She watched Gohan’s head snapped back with shock--

Only to see a massive golden ball of energy floating several feet behind him. Of course, she didn’t have the mastery of her Ki to actually  _ shoot  _ the balls of Ki with enough force to hurt him. That would require them to move at a speed faster than drying paint, which was basically the only speed she could handle at the moment. To anyone who took more than a second to examine the ball of energy, they would have easily been able to distinguish that no one was behind the energy source and that it was just floating harmlessly in the air.

But to a fighter that felt he only had milliseconds to respond to an attack in a pitch black building?

She smiled.

  
  


- _ Gohan- _

“Shit!” Gohan hissed as he immediately released her, spinning around as he pulled his arm and knees up in a hastily formed defence.

He was vaguely aware of Eighteen scrambling to her feet behind him, but his mind was more focused on pushing his Ki out to meet the oncoming blast.

He stiffened, closing his eyes in preparation for the attack.

And then…!

He heard glass shatter somewhere.

“...?”

His eyes slowly opened, his brows knit together in confusion. He could see the ball of energy he’d spotted a moment ago, floating in place no closer than it had been before.

_ What…? _

A moment later the energy flickered and died, revealing no one behind it.

“...!” Immediately Gohan spun around, his head snapping side to side as he searched for Eighteen. His head jerked to his left where he’d heard the sound of breaking glass. He could see that one of the full length windows had been shattered.

_ Damn it! _

His aura flared as he shot outside in an instant, his eyes scanning around him in a desperate attempt to catch her a second time.

His eyes narrowed, searching through the rubble and debris as best he could with the limited light. 

He did not find her again.

“Shit!” He cursed as he slammed his hand back, creating a splinter in the building’s side that shattered its remaining windows. He knew that there was nothing he could do now, with her speed coupled with the setting sun and the fact that he couldn’t trace her like he could Trunks… she was as good as gone.

A part of him was  _ furious  _ that they’d both managed to slip away. The fact that he’d gotten the opportunity to destroy  _ both  _ of them only to fail  _ again _ , only to lose--.

He paused, blinking.

He  _ hadn’t  _ lost, though.

His head slowly turned, looking out at the broken remains of what had at one point earlier today been filled with life. He began to float through it as he began to remember the fight he’d had with Seventeen.

He’d fought Seventeen, one on one, and  _ won _ . He’d even managed to critically wound him on top of that.

He could see the edge of where their battle had taken place, where the buildings were still standing and homes were no longer rubble. When looking at the rest of it… the area he and Seventeen destroyed didn’t look so big, only a few blocks, all in all.

… Now that he thought about it… he hadn’t  _ lost  _ to Eighteen, either. She’d fled from him. He’d even had her at the throat so to speak… even if he had hesitated too long.

He stared out towards the rest of the West City, towards what the rest of the Androids would have destroyed if he’d  _ actually  _ lost.

It was… strange. 

He didn’t know what to do now.

Usually, after a conflict with the Androids, he’d be hurriedly flying back with a severe injury to be treated at Bulma’s, or narrowly escaping as he heard them continue their rampage behind him.

But none of that was happening now. 

It was peaceful, if in an eerie way he admitted. All of the City had been ordered to evacuate by now, assuming that their homes and businesses would most likely be leveled by the end of the day. He began to fly through the rest of West City, its silence like a ghost town as he traversed the empty streets.

Then he heard the sound of something revving, like a car that wouldn’t start.

He decided to follow the sound. Zooming around a corner, he found a small four--door car with a humble trailer hitched to the end of it. Gohan could see a middle aged man inside frantically pushing on the pedal as he turned the key, prompting the car’s startrt to rev into action, and little else. 

Gohan watched the older man quietly from above for a short time. He knew that the man was still trying to evacuate, likely having taken longer to pack some things into his trailer before he left his home to be potentially destroyed.

_ ...I guess I’ll go tell him that he doesn’t have to go? _

The entire situation felt bizarre for some reason.

He landed beside the driver which prompted the man to jump in fear. He stared at Gohan with widening eyes before immediately turning back to his key, trying at the failing ignition with renewed vigor.

“Uh, excuse me sir?” Gohan felt his lips move awkwardly. He rarely conversed with the public in his ‘Golden Warrior’ persona as they put it. He didn’t know if he should put on a voice or not. Was he technically a superhero?

“S-shit! They’re here! I-I know I’m supposed to be gone!” His voice was frantic, his eyes wide with panic as he turned to look over his shoulder as if expecting Eighteen or Seventeen to appear.

“Uh, no sir, that’s not--”

He watched the man immediately spill out of his car, his arms and legs scrambling to find purchase as he attempted to dash down the road.

“Please! Just hold them off a little longer!” His terrified voice screamed as he ran.

Gohan frowned, his brows furrowing.

_ … Alright, let’s try this again. _

In an instant, Gohan appeared in front of the fleeing man, raising a hand for him to pause. 

“You don’t need to evacuate anymore. The Androids aren’t on their way.”

He watched as the older man came to a slow stop before him. The panic in his eyes was slowly replaced with a confused uncertainty.

“...They left?” He asked while sparing a secondary look back towards where he’d left his car door open.

“I…” Gohan blinked as he realized what he was about to say. “I… drove them off.”

His eyes were wide as he said it. The words felt like a new food--like something his mom would make and he would stare questioningly at before trying for himself.

He was finding that he  _ liked it _ .

The man’s eyes were wide as well. “...W-wait,” A nervous smile was beginning to form at the corner of his lips. “Are you saying… that you won?”

Gohan found himself pausing in his response. It wasn’t an all out victory by any means. They were both still alive. Eighteen was still a dangerous threat to the world, and one that Gohan knew that he would have to deal with eventually. Seventeen was still alive and still dangerous even if he was seriously injured. This wouldn’t be the last battle, Gohan knew that much.

But it was the  _ first  _ battle in this long war that he’d actually  _ won _ .

The young man felt a confident, bright smile form on his face.

“Yeah,” he beamed, “I won.”

The words felt good to finally say.   
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt good to give Gohan this mini-victory here, the poor guy deserves it honestly. And no, it’s not an all out victory, but I’d still call that a victory all the same.  
This chapter is going to lead into some very interesting developments later on. It was a major moment, and the dominos set in place are finally beginning to fall. I’m actually impressed that we’re at this part of the story already, this fic is still relatively young in my eyes, but my enjoyment of the story has pushed the progression far faster than I could have predicted.  
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It took me AGES to finish haha, so I’m happy I finally got it out. 
> 
> Please drop a comment telling me what you thought of the chapter! They really make my day!
> 
> Until next time!


	12. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the battle's conclusion, Eighteen flies back home prepared to confront her brother on the events surrounding Gohan's mysterious 'resurrection'. Meanwhile, for the very first time in years, the world has a reason to rejoice.

  
  


_ -Seventeen- _

The Android was silent as his silhouette shot across the sky. 

His lips were pulled into a tight frown, his eyes devoid of anything that could resemble even a spark of energy.

His gaze wandered over the land beneath him, watching the trees and grass race past him, catching glimpses of wildlife quickly scurrying away as his body tore through the air, scaring them with the sounds of rushing winds. 

He watched them flee. 

He watched them flee from what he was certain they thought was mortal danger—from what they thought was a predator who would devour them if they were caught. 

But of course, that’s what they were meant to do. They were prey—animals with the instinctual drive to flee when a predator attacked. 

A rabbit doesn’t have the strength to challenge a fox. 

A fox doesn’t have the strength to challenge a wolf.

His eyes fell shut, his flight coming to a slow stop. 

“...Am I… prey?”

The question lingered in the air, the voice behind the words sounding unlike his own as he said them. 

Because it was something he would  _ never  _ say.

He’d  _ always  _ been the top dog, always the strongest, always the apex predator. It’d been trained into him, an idea reinforced by years and years of it being proven  _ correct _ .

He remembered back when the world’s militaries had banded together in an attempt to take him and his sister down. He remembered laughing as he tore through their forces,  _ choosing  _ to race through their tanks and armored vehicles, using his own indestructible body to blow through the reinforced steel like it was nothing more than tissue paper, knowing in the back of his mind that all he had to do at any time was drop a single ki blast on them, and the entire army would be obliterated. 

He’d felt like  _ God  _ back then.

Seventeen’s fingers curled up into a tight fist. 

Now  _ he’d  _ been forced to flee, forced to run for his life and forced to leave his  _ sister  _ behind to fend off that piece of  ** _shit_ ** **, ** Gohan!

He snarled as Gohan’s face flashed through his mind. How the actual  ** _fuck _ ** had he managed to best him? It didn’t make any sense!

His mind replayed the events of the fight over and over again, picking out each moment he’d been on the back foot, each time he’d lost an exchange, and then finally...

He paused in his thoughts, his eyes pulled towards his right side.

Electricity spat out of the tattered remains of his arm. 

His face scrunched up in disgust at the wound. Disgust at the pain sensor constantly reminding him of the injury, disgust at  _ himself  _ for letting it happen in the first place, and finally disgust in the fact that  _ Gohan  _ was now the top dog. 

He blinked, the anger in his face bleeding away as he came to a sudden realization. 

_ Eighteen! _

He spun around, facing towards where he came as his eyes filled with worry. 

His sister was still back there, presumably buying time for him to get away. Seventeen knew she was no slouch when it came to combat. Hell, she was almost as strong as he was. 

But that was the problem. 

_ Almost  _ as strong. 

Panic filled the Android’s thoughts as his imagination went rampant. He pictured Eighteen struggling, just barely fending off Gohan’s attacks before she too slipped up, made a mistake just like he had and then-

He shut his eyes in a grimace.

He did  _ not  _ want to imagine that reality. 

Seventeen’s ice blue eyes snapped open as the urge to save his sister flooded through his thoughts. He wanted to be there, to be a good brother and protect her like he always had. He wanted to race back there as fast as he could and pummel that idiot blonde into the ground until his face resembled nothing but a dropped lasagna. 

Despite this, Seventeen’s form remained floating in the air, unmoving. 

He wanted to do all those things. 

But something else held him in place as he continued to glare furiously back towards where he knew the battle was raging on. 

Something that Seventeen hadn’t experienced in a long, long time. 

** _Fear_ ** _ . _

As much as the man refused to admit it, as much as he wanted to convince himself that it was a lie, he knew deep in the back of his mind that it was the truth.

He’d been  _ terrified  _ in those final seconds against Gohan. When he’d seen that plume of golden flames racing towards him, knowing that he wouldn’t be fast enough to get away or even put up a half decent defense.

He remembered seeing that ball of blue energy and seeing death for the very first time since Dr. Gero’s experiments. He’d forgotten that death could even apply to him anymore, even gotten used to the idea that he and his sister were in fact, immortal. Death had been something that everyone  _ else  _ experienced—the people he and his sister killed,  _ those _ people could die. 

But not him.

_ Never  _ him. 

He shut his eyes, feeling a tremble begin to run down his arm and legs. 

_ I could have died back there _ .

It was a disturbing realization to have.  _ Gohan  _ could have killed him. Gohan, the man Seventeen had grown to acknowledge as little more than a semi—durable punching bag, had managed to nearly  _ kill  _ him. Had Eighteen not arrived when she had… if she’d been even a minute later…

Seventeen shuddered at the thought, letting out a shaky, nervous exhale of air as he did. 

He didn’t want to die. 

And as much as he wanted to go back and save his sister, to protect her from what Gohan could do to her… he knew he wouldn’t. 

He couldn’t bring himself to face death again. 

_ She told me to run,  _

He reminded himself, trying to justify the fact that he might have just left his little sister to perish. 

_ She wanted me to leave! She knew that I wouldn’t have made it if I’d stayed! _

He knew it was likely the truth. Gohan would have kept coming after him if he stayed, and as of now, Seventeen knew his strength was far below what Gohan could dish out. 

_ And all because of this damn arm… _

It was like his arm had a pressure valve that had been permanently switched to ‘on’. Everytime he pushed his energy to one of his other limbs to perform an action, some of that energy would siphon off and spill out of the severed limb, like his body was a hose with a hole in it. 

Even now as his energy kept him afloat, he could feel some of it spilling out of the wound, being wasted and making the task almost twice as hard as a result.

He attempted twice more to build up the courage to return, to face down Gohan like he’d done so many times before and assure his sister’s safety.

He failed both times. 

The Android sagged as he felt his desperation grow, his nervousness growing as he considered his sister’s fate. Would she run? He imagined she would, knowing how smart she was. He knew that she wouldn’t attempt to fight Gohan if she knew that he was stronger than himself, but that begged the question: would she be able to get away?

“...”

He didn’t know. 

They’d never had to  _ run  _ before.

“...Damn it, Seventeen…” He mumbled to himself as he stared into the distance. He was already miles away from the fight, too far to see even the faintest silhouette of the city. He felt somehow responsible for this, responsible for the fact that his sister was risking her life to save him. 

_ If I had just listened… just kept my promise this wouldn’t have happened… _

She’d asked him to wait for her, to wait until she could explain whatever this little crisis was of hers. Sure, she’d been keeping secrets, but she was entitled to her own secrets right? Why did he have to know everything about her life? She was her own person after all

He felt the urge to find out the fate of his sister sooner rather than later. He had no way to tell how the fight was going, so the best course of action would be to wait for her back at the house, assuming she got away safe.

He frowned.

He didn’t like that idea.

But it wasn’t like he had another way to contact—

His eyes widened.

_ My phone! _

He’d completely forgot about it! Usually he left it at home whenever he left to ‘have fun’. He quickly reached into his pocket—

And pulled out the bent, shattered husk of what appeared to have once been a phone, but was nothing more than a metal disk, flattened and warped to comply with the shape of his thigh. He let out a soft laugh at the damaged device. 

_ Yup, that checks out. _

He  _ usually  _ didn’t bring his phone because there was always the chance Blondie would show up. His phones typically wouldn’t survive him being repeatedly blown up and tossed through the occasional building. He’d brought it this time only because he’d been under the impression that Blondie was  _ dead _ , and thus his days of being tossed through buildings were over.

He frowned, a thought from earlier returning to him. 

_ ...Why _ ** _ was _ ** _ Blondie alive in the first place? _

His face scrunched up with a tight frown. It didn’t make any sense! There was no way Eighteen would have  _ accidentally  _ let him live considering the state he’d been in when he’d left her to do the deed. The guy was tough, Seventeen would admit, but it wasn’t like Eighteen was an  _ amateur  _ when it came to murder. She knew how to decipher if a person was dead or not!

He looked down, his brows furrowed in thought. The only way that Gohan could be alive despite Eighteen’s words is if there’d magically been a medical team around the corner when she blew a hole through his torso, or…

_ Or she’s  _ ** _lying_ ** _ . _

Seventeen didn’t like the idea. He was sure that there was a reasonable explanation for all of this… even if he couldn’t think of one.

The Android sighed as he rolled the partially burnt device in his hand before letting it slip from his fingers.

The loss of his arm… Eighteen’s seeming deceit… it felt like his world was being flipped upside down. 

“...Get home safe,” He muttered before turning and blasting off.

  
  


_ -Eighteen, Twenty Minutes Later- _

The woman had been floating above the mansion for five minutes now, her arms crossed, eyes staring where she knew Seventeen would likely be: in his room.

She’d been thinking about what she would do when she arrived the entire way back, what she could say to fix things between her and her brother, what she could do to make things right.

No words came to mind.

“...”

She knew he wouldn’t understand if she tried to tell him something that resembled the truth. She could easily picture Seventeen exploding on her, screaming how she’d betrayed him, how she’d stabbed him in the back and how all of this was her fault.

She frowned.

Okay maybe those were  _ her  _ thoughts, but that didn’t mean he would take anything she tried to say lightly. There was also the problem of Seventeen’s  _ temper _ . She knew her brother, the way he responded to defeat, the way he responded to being  _ second  _ to someone else. She remembered the time he’d tried for the track team back when they were in highschool. He’d shown no real interest in the sport, but noticed a bunch of cute girls seemed to be interested in the track guys, so he gave it a shot.

He’d been slower than  _ one  _ of the other track members.

That team member had been forced to resign shortly following a terrible mugging that had shattered one of the boy’s femurs. The only description the police had been given had been that the attacker had been wearing a clown mask, and using an aluminum bat. 

Eighteen had noticed a newly bought bat and mask in her brother’s room shortly after hearing the news. 

Eighteen knew that he would be raring to figure out a way for revenge, for a way to kill Gohan despite his obvious weakened state. 

Seventeen would already be planning to challenge Gohan, devising a method for the two of them to face the man again.

Eighteen sighed, she didn’t have an answer for  _ that  _ problem either. 

_ This is going to be an absolute shit show. _

Slowly, the woman lowered herself to the front door, pausing for a moment as her hand wrapped around the handle.

_ Here we go.  _

_ S _ he thought to herself before twisting and stepping inside. 

“Eighteen!?” 

Much to her surprise, Seventeen hadn’t been in his room, he’d been waiting in the living room, sitting on the couch seemingly waiting for her. She watched as her brother rose to his feet, genuine relief flooding his features as his eyes met hers. 

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said with a smile.

She smiled back, realizing just how nervous he must have been leaving her to fight Gohan. “You too.”

“He didn’t hurt you did he?” She watched his fingers curl into a fist.

“No, I’m alright.” She figured it would be best for the situation if she didn’t mention her sore shoulder.

He let out a visible exhale of relief. “That’s good. I was scared for a second there.”

“Me too,” she admitted.

The room filled with silence. She could make out a conflicted expression on his face, as if he wanted to bring up a topic he knew would cause a fight.

She closed her eyes, knowing what it would be.

“So…” his voice grew tenser, “are you ready to tell me why Gohan wasn’t, you know,  _ dead  _ back there?” 

And there it was.

The woman fell silent as she tried to figure out what she should say. 

“I… messed up.” It was sort of correct. 

Seventeen’s expression hardened. “... _ How _ ?”

Eighteen didn’t respond, her gaze pulling away. How could she tell her brother that she’d  _ spared  _ the man responsible for tearing off his arm? 

“ _ Eighteen _ ,” She could hear the agitation in his voice now, “I just lost an  _ arm  _ back there. I feel like I deserve an explanation!” 

He was absolutely right.

He did deserve one, but that didn’t mean Eighteen was prepared to give it to him. She wasn’t ready for the scrutiny that would come with revealing the truth.

Anger was beginning to seep into her brother’s face now, “Are you really just going to stand there and say nothing?”

“No.”

“Then tell me why Mr. Asshole-In-Orange is still alive and kicking!”

“How about you tell me why the hell you broke your promise!” She fired back, feeling her own anger beginning to boil over.

“Are you serious right now? I nearly  _ died  _ back there!”

“Yeah, because you broke your promise!” 

“Because  _ you  _ are keeping secrets!” 

“You don’t need to know everything about my life! Why do I have to tell you all of my secrets?

“Because it sure as Hell seems that one of those secrets was that Blondie is  **still alive** .”

Their eyes narrowed to slits, each of the twins shooting the other a nasty glare.

_ What the hell am I doing? _

Eighteen blinked, her brother and she had just barely escaped a life or death experience, he was critically wounded, and now she was  _ yelling at him? _

_ Get it together, Eighteen. _

Getting defensive wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

Her face softening, she said, “look, I know things really don’t make sense right now. I know that you want answers… but I know that you won't accept them if I tell you.”

“Just,” He closed his eyes, clearly trying to calm himself just as she’d done. “Tell me why Blondie is alive,  _ please _ .” 

“I…” Eighteen swallowed, “I spared him.”

The words hung in the air like the sound of a broken plate hitting the floor.

“... **Why** ?” She could detect the brimming anger behind the word.

“I… needed to ask him an important question.”

“An important—” He repeated, before a dark laugh spilled from his lips, “An  **important question** !?” He roared back at her, his face snarling. “What the actual  **fuck ** do you mean an ‘ **important question** ’!?”

Her fingers curled into fists as she did her best to maintain her calm. “I had to know—”

“Yes,  **please ** elaborate!” He interrupted in a mocking, hateful tirade, “Please, tell me what your oh-so-important  **question ** is that just so happened to cost me my entire fucking  **arm!** ”

Eighteen was gritting her teeth now, struggling to maintain her cool. 

Seventeen stepped forward, right in her face. “ **Tell me!** ” he spat.

Eighteen felt his words splatter against her cheek.

Her eyes narrowed

Suddenly, Seventeen’s body was sent flying back, his back slamming through the wall on the other side of the room.

Seventeen was on his back, drywall and framing lying crumpled beneath him as he pushed himself back up, his eyes locking back onto where Eighteen was standing, her arm still outstretched after launching the young man back.

He was  _ snarling  _ with rage.

Eighteen’s face was a tight scowl before her eyes snapped open, seemingly realizing in a flash what she’d just done. 

“I—I didn’t mean—”

Seventeen shot forward a moment later, growling as he threw out a wild haymaker meant for the woman’s cheek. Eighteen responded by dropping low, avoiding the attack as it flew over her head.

“Stop!” She shouted as his knee shot out a moment later, slamming against her waiting forearm and pushed the woman back a few inches.

Her eyes widened in shock when she felt the light of a Ki blast begin to emanate from her brother’s hand.

_ Damn it, Seventeen! _

She knew her brother.

She knew his  _ rage _ . 

Eighteen rose abruptly, her elbow slamming into Seventeen’s chin and snapping his head back in a violent jerk. 

Eighteen knew her brother was a prideful man, and an  _ angry  _ one. 

She drove her other fist into his stomach, listening as the wind escaped his lips before he was thrown back from the force of the blow.

Her lips formed a grim line as she listened to the sound of her brother crashing through multiple rooms of what  _ had  _ been their home.

She could hear water running somewhere now.

_ Did I throw him through the laundry room? _

She could hear the distant sound of Seventeen picking himself back up, his feet splashing in seemingly pooling water. 

“You’re going to fucking  _ pay  _ for that one!” She listened to her brother hiss.

Eighteen sighed.

He wouldn’t be done until he was either  _ beaten _ , or confident that his  _ pride  _ had been satisfied. 

Eighteen slowly brought her fists up in a ready position, waiting for Seventeen’s form to come charging out of the  _ second  _ hole she’d made in the house.

She frowned after several seconds of seeming silence.

_ What is he doing back there? _

It hadn’t sounded like he’d moved. Eighteen absentmindedly tried to search out her twin’s energy before scowling.

_ Oh, right. Damn, that’s annoying.  _

Now that she  _ could  _ sense energy, she was beginning to see why Gohan probably thought fighting  _ her  _ was so troublesome. 

It was a small beam of golden energy, slipping through the drywall dust and other debris in the air for the briefest second that gave the woman the warning she needed.

_ Fuck! _

Immediately the Android pulled her limbs in, taking a defensive position as a red energy sphere wrapped around her.

Then she saw it.

A rushing stream of golden energy obliterating everything between her and her brother before completely enveloping the woman. 

Eighteen focused her attention on the shield, ensuring that it would hold, but could tell that she was in no real danger. 

_ … He’s too weak… _

The attack, while forcing her to focus, was doing little more than that. 

The last shred of the golden light washed over her, and Eighteen let her shield fall. The girl briefly looked over her shoulder, seeing the devastation left after her brother’s attack. It looked like the blast had managed to entirely obliterate the wall behind her, as well as the home across the street, and the one behind that…

Eighteen pulled her attention back to where she knew Seventeen was still standing. 

She hadn’t heard him move. 

Cautiously, she began to make her way through the multiple holes widened by Seventeen’s attack.

She expected to see her brother waiting for her, posed to strike and catch her off guard. She expected him to fire off another blast as she approached. 

She was  _ surprised  _ when she made it to the laundry room without being attacked. 

“...That was my strongest attack…” Eighteen’s head turned towards her twin’s voice.

She frowned.

Seventeen sat with his back against the cracked wall, his head hanging so that some of his hair drooped before his face. He held his remaining hand loosely in front of his eyes, closing his fingers into a fist.

He didn’t look up when she stood beside him. 

“... Seventeen?” It was impossible to hide the concern laced in her voice. She’d ** never ** seen her brother like this. 

The twin ignored her. “...This is going to be how it is now, isn’t it?” His gaze held on his open hand. “Weak, pathetic…” A shallow growl slipped from his lips, “ _ Crippled _ .”

“I’m sorry…” Eighteen reached down to place a hand on his shoulder, only to have her fingers swatted away.

“Do you think I  _ care  _ if you’re sorry!?” He spat, his eyes finally locking onto hers.

She saw  _ hatred  _ in those eyes.

She took a step back, “I—I didn’t—”

“He should be  **dead, ** Eighteen!” He snarled, his fingers clenched in a tight fist. “But, instead!... Instead…” His rage began to tamper, his eyes shifting back to his remaining hand.

“ **Fuck!** ” He let out a bellowing roar as he slammed his fist into the ground, causing the entire house to shake as the tiles beneath them cracked. Eighteen swallowed, her face full of worry--and uncertainty.

What was she supposed to  _ do _ ?

Her lips parted. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but she knew she had to say  _ something  _ at the very least—

“ **Go away,** Eighteen.”

_ ...What? _

“W-wait, hold on—”

“You caused this, Eighteen.” He hissed the words, his eyes narrowing as they settled on her. 

“I didn’t mean for—”

“It doesn’t matter what you  _ meant _ ,” raising his shoulder stump, he continued, “it’s already done.”

The two grew silent, Eighteen quietly wished she could do something to make this better, do something to make her brother feel better.

But what was there to do?

“...I’m guessing that those little trips out to ‘work out’... were with him?”

Her eyes snapped open, realizing the implication. “It’s not like that! I promise that we’re not—”

“Go away, Eighteen.”

The words felt like daggers sinking into her chest. 

“Please, Seventeen, I can—”

“Just—” She could hear a hitch in his voice, could hear that this was hard for him too. “Just go away, Eighteen… I can’t  _ trust  _ you anymore.” 

The woman felt warmth at the base of her eyes, staring down at her brother who was purposefully looking away. 

“...Keep yourself out of trouble, Seventeen. I won’t be around if Gohan catches you again.” She said, before she shot straight upward, not caring about the floor above or the roof.

This wasn’t her  _ home  _ anymore anyway. 

  
  


_ -One Hour Later- _

Eighteen sat with her legs pulled up to her chest as she stared at the loose dirt at her feet. 

She was sitting in the center of an abnormally flat stretch of dirt and rock amidst an otherwise plentiful forest. Tendrils of smoke were slowly rising from bits of still-singed rock. 

Eighteen idly wondered what this mountain had been called before she’d obliterated it. 

She didn’t really care. 

She’d just needed to blow off some steam.

Eventually, she pushed herself back to her feet, her face without a hint of emotion as she slowly rose from the broken remains of her rampage and began to fly without any real destination. 

She flew over two suspiciously flat stretches of dry rock and mud where she’d lost her temper a couple times more. 

_ I  _ ** _have _ ** _ to accept this. _

She thought to herself, her lips stuck in a permanent frown.

Because  _ I caused  _ ** _all _ ** _ of this.  _

She knew it to be true. Had she listened to her brother when she’d had the chance, had she  _ killed  _ that damn Gohan when he was dying before her, none of this would have ever happened. 

She scowled.

What was worse, she’d gotten what she’d  _ wanted _ . 

She’d needed a way to stop Seventeen from attacking cities, to prevent her brother from continuing down this road of devastation that she’d been  _ convinced  _ would lead to their eventual demise. 

She’d thought that would involve a talk, a sit down with her brother to explain, so that he could understand like she did. 

Instead, now her brother was too  _ weak  _ to risk going out on his own and terrorizing the survivors of what had been  _ their  _ world.

That was another point that Eighteen had come to accept, if begrudgingly. 

Yesterday, the two of them had been  _ gods  _ of this world—destructive forces that no one could hope to stand up to.

But now?

Her mind flashed back to her fight with Gohan, to the moments just before her escape when she was certain she was about to see all of her robot bits spill out of her just like Seventeen had as her arm was torn from her body. 

She shut her eyes tightly. 

Now she  _ knew  _ that they were no longer the gods of this place. Even together, she doubted it would end well for them if they were to challenge Gohan like they always had. Seventeen was too weak to be anything more than a liability in a fight, and Eighteen knew from their previous encounter that she was definitely not enough to challenge Gohan on her own. 

For the first time in their lives,  _ they  _ were the weaker side. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Eighteen had a reason to be  _ afraid _ . 

And it was all  ** _her fault_ ** _ . _

“... **DAMN IT!** ” She bellowed as she focused her power to her center, pushing it out in a violent burst that let out a deafening  _ boom  _ as it reached critical mass.

She growled, her fists trembling with rage as she did. 

_ I threw it all away, didn’t I? Everything we had, everything that we’d grown to know,  _ ** _gone!_ **

She couldn’t just go to a bank and start killing people she didn’t like, because Gohan would be there. She couldn’t parade around a city, watching the people grow panicked as they recognized her anymore, because Gohan would be there. Suddenly, actions had consequences again. Suddenly, this world had  _ stopped  _ being their playground. 

“...”  
Slowly, Eighteen’s eyes pulled upward, blue irises taking in the dark, inky sky sprinkled with specks of shining light millions of lightyears away. 

_ So… what now? _

_ What is going on down there?  _

Eighteen frowned as she stared down questioningly at the city down below. It had taken her some time to begin to think clearly again, and once she could, she decided that she should  _ probably  _ pick her bag back up from where she stashed it before the fight. She doubted that anyone important would find it and assume anything amiss— change of clothes, a wig, some glasses, nothing to raise any eyebrows at.

She did miss her phone though. Half of her expected it to be gone already.

What she  _ hadn’t  _ expected however was the seemingly endless sea of people filling the streets, their voices all loud and tangled in such a mess that she couldn’t distinguish what they were trying to say even if she  _ tried _ .

The Android continued to hover high in the air, using her enhanced eyesight to study the unaware citizens. It resembled a festival, like one massive party or celebration.

_ But what is it that they’re celebrating? _

As far as she could tell, it was like this all over West City. She’d stretched out her senses earlier and felt a similar, chaotic, excited energy across the city, so she knew  _ something  _ had to be up.

“Hmm…” Her eyes narrowed, she decided to ignore the commotion for the time being, she still had to grab her bag.

Eighteen suddenly blurred, moving so fast that she was certain no one below would be able to see her.

Slipping into the small, decrepit building where she’d stowed away her belongings earlier, she found, much to her relief, that the bag had remained untampered. 

The bag unzipped, her eyes scanning its contents just to make sure before she noticed her phone and pulled it out.

Her eyebrow arched as she noticed the missed call and message waiting for her.

They were both from Gohan.

The woman frowned, pausing as she stared at the name on the screen, her mind going back to earlier today when she nearly  _ died _ . 

Slowly, her finger pressed down to open the text.

“ _ Hey, Videl. Hope you’re doing okay. Trunks told me that it was your idea to transfer yours and Trunks’ Ki to me. Thank you, it really did help in the end.” _

Eighteen scoffed, she knew that her own contribution had been little more than a sliver of energy, hardly anything that would affect the outcome of a fight, let alone  _ that  _ fight.

_ “Anyway, me and the gang are all celebrating back at Bulma’s place. If you’d like to come, I’m sure everyone would love to meet you. In case you forgot where it was, the address is—” _

Eighteen blinked.

An  _ invitation _ … celebrating what? Her own  _ defeat!? _

She paused, a sudden realization dawning on her as the cheering noises from outside continued to spill into the unstable structure.

_ Is  _ ** _that _ ** _ what everybody is celebrating? _

That couldn’t be it right? An entire city celebrating the outcome of just  _ one  _ fight?

The woman slowly approached a shattered window on the other side of the room, cautiously peeking over to view the chaos outside. She didn’t want someone to spot her and cause a panic. She could still sense Gohan in the city and now that she knew how energy worked, knew that he would be able to sense a panic if he was paying close attention.

Spending the night running away from Gohan again was  _ not  _ on her to do list. 

Her eyes narrowed as she observed the humans down below.  
She could see people laughing, drinking, and generally having a jovial time. 

Her eyes widened when one of the drunks managed to cup his hands over his mouth and roared, “We’re still here!”

Immediately, everyone around the man repeated the phrase, stopping what they were doing and cupping their mouths to do the same.

“ **WE’RE STILL HERE!** ”

Eighteen took a step away from the window in surprise.

It was beginning to look like that  _ was  _ the reason for the celebration.

She frowned, slowly bringing up the phone to stare down at the message once more. 

She glared down at the invitation, snarling at the fact that he’d just invited her to her own social _ depreciation  _ party. A event specifcally tailored to celebrate what already felt like her biggest fuck up  _ ever _ , just the icing on the cake in her opinion.

_ Fuck this… _

She pocketed the phone before shouldering her bag and preparing to leave, her body posed to shoot into the sky.

But then she paused.

Slowly, her gaze shifted back towards the broken window.

- _ Gohan- _

_ Hope she’s okay… _

The young man frowned as he stole a glance at his phone for what he felt like had to be the 5th time in the last fifteen minutes. He was sitting on the coach in the living room. Music and conversation filled the room around him.  
He heard an annoyed sounding clearing of the throat a moment after.

Closing his eyes he let out a soft breath, waiting for it.  
“You know you really shouldn’t be on your phone so much when you’re with company.”

_And there it is.__  
_ “Of course,” He managed to muster a smile as his mom frowned at him disapprovingly, “I’ll put it away.” She had her arms crossed, wearing one of her traditional purple dresses as so often did, with her hair up in a bun, albeit with a few loose hairs sticking out here and there.

“Oh, give the kid ah break!” Gohan felt an arm wrap around his neck, Master Roshi hanging off of his side loosely. The man looked like he’d come straight over as soon as he got the word, wearing flip flops, board shorts and a tank top. 

The smell of liquor hit Gohan like a freight train. 

“He already beat tha Androids! Lay off of him, old lady!” The old master ordered with an intoxicated gesture of his hand.

Gohan felt his lips shift into a grin. Despite the smell, he still appreciated the old man sticking up for him. 

It especially felt good to hear the man say  _ those  _ words.

Chichi’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, her jaw tightening to a hardened edge. “ ** _What _ ** did you just call me?”

Roshi let out a hearty laugh, his head reeling back before snapping back to face down his mother.

“What? Is dat news ta you?” He sucked in a deep breath of air, “ ** _You’re old!_ ** ” His old man voice boomed.

Gohan had always regarded Master Roshi as a brave man.

Never had he seen that trait exemplified more than here.

The young Saiyan turned to his mom, his eyes filled with worry at what his mom planned to do to the old hermit.

Although his mother had never learned enough about combat to ever gain a mastery of her Ki, Gohan was  _ certain  _ he could see a faint blood red aura radiating from his mom in that moment.

“Run, Roshi—” He started, before realizing that the old Hermit had already taken off.

The saiyan turned his head, amused as he heard the old man laughing down the hallway, his mother shortly behind him.

“Get back here, you insufferable geezer! I’ll show you who’s old!”

“Haha, you can’t catch these old bones!”

Gohan let out a laugh as the rest of the room did the same, the tension bleeding away as soon as it had arrived. 

Although the comment had been annoying, his mom  _ did  _ have a point, he had to admit. He  _ was  _ enjoying himself, and he liked  _ finally  _ having a reason to get the gang back together.

Well… those who were left, that is. 

Gohan felt his smile fall ever so slightly. The thought was a sobering one.

“Hey, Gohan! Long time no see!”

The young man’s smile recovered as he heard the familiar high pitched voice beside him.

“Puar!” He grinned as he accepted an awkward hug from the dark blue… cat? Gohan had always thought Puar was a cat, but always thought it rude to ask. 

Floating on the air as he always did, the feline smiled. “I’ve missed you! You should swing by Kame House more often!”

“Yeah, I’m realizing that you’re definitely right, it feels like it’s been forever since the last time we all met up.” Gohan studied the old cat as they spoke, his eyes narrowing on the rough patches of unkempt fur and the signs of age pushing through her otherwise happy demeanor. Puar had taken the loss of the rest of the gang just as hard as everyone had, but she’d definitely been affected by the loss of Yamcha the most. 

Gohan could still picture the two of them together way back when he had been a kid. She’d always been at his side, the two of them joking and chatting pleasantly amongst themselves. Outside of combat, the two had been inseparable. 

Afterwards, she’d decided to stay at Kami’s place with Roshi and Oolong, neither of which seemed to mind her company considering how friendly and sweet she was.

He remembered those months afterward, seeing Puar wandering, her head looking around desperately, almost confused, before stopping all at once, remembered that who she was looking for wasn’t around anymore. 

Gohan had never known how the two met, but it was undeniably just how close they’d been. The only friendship he’d seen that even came close had been his father and Krillin.

He smiled at the rush of memories.

_ Good times. _

“—and then Oolong says, ‘who needs the Androids when you have friends like these?’ can you believe it? Hah!” Gohan watched with a smile as the small cat held its stomach with high-pitched laughter. 

The young man released a polite chuckle, figuring that it would have been funnier had he been there. “That sounds like it was crazy, haha! I bet he’ll remember to lock the door next time, huh?”

“I’m sure! And he—”

“ ** _Puar?_ ** ” Gohan heard Trunks’s excited voice on the other side of the room.

The cat spun around, a bright smile on his face. “ **Trunks!?** ”

Gohan watched as the two locked eyes, excited expressions on their faces. He let out a soft laugh. For whatever reason, Puar seemed to really like Trunks, and Trunks seemed to believe that Puar was the cutest cat in the world, despite his age.

Puar didn’t seem to mind the attention. 

The cat looked over her shoulder back at Gohan. “Do you mind if we talk again later?”

Shaking his head, Gohan motioned for the feline to go enjoy herself. 

Puar took off a moment later, slamming into the smiling teen’s awaiting arms. 

Gohan felt his lips pulling up into a smile as he watched the teen squeeze the fuzzy cat to his chest.

No, Puar  _ definitely  _ didn’t mind the attention.

“Hey Gohan, how ya doin kid?” He felt the cushion beside him sink down.

“I’ve been doing alright,” He turned to face Oolong who appeared to be casually nursing a can of beer. He wore his classic suspenders. “How have you been, Oolong?”

“Eh, been keeping it pretty symmetrical.” The pig grinned, poking Gohan’s arm. 

Gohan grinned back, appreciating the pig’s rude brand of humor. With everyone else, his wound had been a very sensitive subject, but with Oolong? Out the gate he’d been poking fun at the young man—making arm jokes, offering to play a game of golf with him some time, asking if he thought he could get a discount on gloves since he only needed one...

Gohan had found it refreshing.

It had made him feel normal again after the incident, since to everyone else, he’d been this poor victim of such a horrible injury.

But to Oolong? 

He was just another one of the guys open for  **all ** the ridicule and jokes. 

Gohan loved that about the old pig.

**No one** was safe from his insensitive humor. 

“You know,” Oolong continued, a slowly building grin on his face, warning Gohan that a joke in absolutely  _ terrible  _ taste was coming. “You keep dodging my requests to play a game of  _ Foosball _ sometime!” The pig was sporting the most dubious shit-eating grin as he held Gohan’s gaze. “What? Is the great ‘Golden Warrior’ too scared to go toe to toe against this little pig?”

Laughing Gohan pushed Oolong over, prompting a squawk from the pig as he tried desperately not to spill his drink. 

“Yeah, I deserved that one.” He laughed, pushing himself back up before taking a sip.

Just then, Chichi came storming back into the room before returning to her seat on the couch next to Oolong. She plopped down with a ‘humph’ and crossed her arms, still steaming.

Both Gohan’s and Oolong’s gazes fell on her. 

“Uh…” Gohan spoke first. “Where’s Master Roshi?”

“He’s reflecting on how rude he was.” Chichi spoke sternly. 

Oolong and he traded nervous looks. 

“Um… well, I think it’s best I go check up on the old fella.” Oolong pushed himself off the couch, waving a hand to Gohan before disappearing down the hall.

The young man waved back before letting his hand fall to his side, his mouth feeling dry as he tried to think of a question to ask his mom.

“...”  
“...Uh, so…” He began slowly, trying to by time to think of a good question to ask. “Been trying any… new… hobbies as of late?” The question came out choppy and awkward, but he did mean it. 

He wanted to know about his mother’s life.

It was just hard to talk to her, sometimes. 

He watched her pause a moment, considering her answer. “I’ve taken up knitting baby clothes, recently.” 

Gohan frowned. “Baby clothes? Why? You’re not… uh,” he didn’t want to say the word  _ pregnant  _ to his mom. He didn’t want to picture her with anyone but his dad. 

“No. No, I am not,” she confirmed without turning her head. 

The saiyan let out a soft sigh, understanding the implication almost immediately. 

She wanted grandchildren.

Meanwhile, he wasn’t even in a relationship.

“How about you?” She continued, trying to manage a half smile as she asked, “how’s been... _ training _ ?”

He could detect a hint of distaste at the word, even if she’d been trying her best to hide it. He knew her opinion on ‘training’ as an activity in itself was less than stellar, even if she fully understood the necessity of the enormous strains he put on his body regularly. 

It’d been very clear that she’d wanted him to grow up and become an educated and well rounded member of society, someone with a degree and a nice house and a family of his very own.

She’d wanted a  _ good  _ life for him.

He couldn’t blame her for it.

If he’d been able to choose from  _ that  _ reality over this one? He’d have picked that in a  _ heartbeat _ .

But then the Androids had attacked and left  _ him  _ as the only remaining fighter strong enough to even  _ try  _ and stop them. 

Of course, she’d been against it at first, exclaiming that a  _ seven-year-old boy _ should not be responsible for saving the world!

Admittedly, when he replayed it back in his mind, Gohan realized she might have had a point back then. 

She’d use this point to convince him to stay sometimes back then when the Androids attacked, remind him that he was still very much a  _ child _ , and that he should  _ not  _ feel like he needed to do something about it at his age.

Who would actually expect a boy no older than ten to face down two monsters, each capable of destroying the planet on a whim?

He still thought back to those times, thought about how many times his mom saved his life by convincing him to stay when he was  _ clearly  _ not ready.

He also thought about all the lives that were lost due to that decision, and how many  _ more  _ would have been lost in the long run had he perished so young.

“Well, I’ve finally gotten strong enough to  _ beat  _ the Androids.” He smiled.

The words still felt so  _ unreal  _ to say.

But  _ damn  _ did they feel good.

Chichi smiled a genuine, happy smile. Not like the one she’d had when she’d asked about training. “I’m happy for you, sweetie really, I am.” Reaching out, she took hold of her son’s hand. “I’m sure your father is looking down on you right now, beaming with pride.”

Gohan felt a swell in his chest.

That was his mom alright. One way or another, she always knew the words to make the young man feel emotional.

“Thanks, mom,” he said, forcing his voice to remain composed.

Her arms parted, reaching out for a hug Gohan didn’t hesitate to accept.

It felt good to hug his mom.

Especially after so long…

“So…” The middle aged woman began as they parted, he could already hear the agenda in her voice.

_ Well, it was nice while it lasted. _

“Have you given any thought to what you might do when the Androids are finally… gone?”

Gohan blinked, taken aback by the question.

“I…” The young man fell silent, the revelation slowly dawning on him that he had absolutely  _ no  _ plan for what he wanted to do  _ after  _ all this fighting was done.

He’d never even considered it.

He’d been fighting for  _ so long _ .

“Might I make a suggestion?” She asked kindly, noting his silence.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What if you considered going back to school again? I’m sure you’d enjoy it.”

There weren’t too many colleges still around due to the sheer drop in cities and towns these days. Only the main ones, the ones that survived in the bigger cities still existed anymore. 

Still, Gohan didn’t  _ hate  _ the idea. His mind flashed back to all the books still sitting at his bedside. He definitely still had a mind hungry for learning.

“That’s actually not a terrible idea, mom.”

Her eyes visibly lit up at the comment. “Really?”

He smiled, enjoying seeing his mom excited for once. “Really.”

He could see that she wanted to push more, ask that he find a girl and start a relationship, get started on making her some grandbabies, get a nice house, a car, a family for her to visit frequently and cook for like back when Goku was around. 

But it seemed she was content leaving the conversation alone with this minor victory.

“Well, that’s good to hear, son. Remember that if you ever need any help, I’m just a phone call away.” She sat up straighter, her hands in her lap as her smile refused to waver.

“Woo! The  _ par-tay  _ animal has returned!” Roshi’s intoxicated voice filled the room as he came stumbling in, heavily leaning on an uncomfortable looking Oolong.

There was a bright red bump on the top of his head.

Gohan watched as his mother’s eyes grew big with worry, almost as if she was realizing just then that she may have been a  _ bit  _ excessive.

“You might want to go over and say you’re sorry…”

“Yeah... you’re probably right.” Chichi let out a soft sigh before rising to her feet. Turning back to her son, she added, “Don’t let me forget to give you the casserole I made for you. I put it in Bulma’s fridge. You can just warm it up later.”

Gohan laughed, she always liked to cook for him. He figured it was her ‘mom instincts’ kicking in. “Thanks, mom. I’ll be sure to remind you.”

The two shared another hug before the middle-aged woman left to find Roshi, who appeared to be flirting poorly with one of Bulma’s old associates back when she’d been the head of Capsule Corp.. A young blonde unfortunate enough to be pretty and in the Hermit’s line of sights.

He watched his mother walk with the elegance of a princess and the fortitude of a mom who was  **not ** to be trifled with. 

_ Well, that wasn’t so bad. _

In fact, that interaction had been… dare he say it…  ** _nice_ ** .

Their last several encounters however… had been less than favorable. 

Towards the final years of their living together, before Gohan had been legally able to move out, he remembered their fights growing more and more frequent as Gohan began taking off to challenge the Androids more and more often.

She never approved. Even if she understood his reasons and he understood hers, the two could never seem to find a middle ground.

She always wanted him to think of himself, to think of his future and live for himself.

He felt a responsibility to humanity—the same one that the gang had felt. The same one they’d all perished to protect. 

Eventually, the fights were the only interactions they had with each other. Even after he moved out, whenever he would come over for dinner, their conversations would eventually steer back towards the topic of the Androids and what he was doing with his life.

After a while, Gohan stopped accepting her invites.

A while after that, she stopped sending them. 

Realizing that his thoughts were beginning to put a damper on what  _ should  _ be a happy occasion, Gohan decided he would try to find something else to keep his mind off things. 

His eyes scanned over the party, over the massive sea of unknown faces while catching glimpses of his friends within, chatting, socializing, and generally having a good time.

Bulma had invited some of her old associates over to fill out the party and make it feel like a proper celebration. People who she’d worked well with back when she’d been the head of Capsule Corporation.They were people who respected her for sacrificing as much as she did in order to do the right thing and help the victims of the Androids’ constant rampages.

Gohan’s eyes landed on the blue haired woman dressed in some casual business wear. She was laughing with a group of people Gohan didn’t recognize, likely fellow scientists, he assumed. She’d run Capsule Corp. straight into the ground, using every cent she could to replace what had been destroyed over and over again, eventually getting to the point that she’d had to sell the very patent to the capsule technology itself in order to ensure her and her son’s own well being. 

That being said, she’d never seemed to mind the change. He’d always wondered if she regretted giving it all up, the money, the fame, the life she could have had.

One day he’d asked her if she did have any regrets over the sacrifices to her life she’d had to make.

She’d smiled at him, and simply asked, “ **Do you** ?”

He grinned, remembering the interaction, and knew that the woman had  _ no  _ regrets for the sacrifices she’d made. Thinking about it, he figured that out of all the people in the room, she was the one person who likely had fought just as hard as he had to help humanity survive this catastrophe, if albeit in her own, businessy sort of way.

She’d handed her entire life away, just like he had.

And he respected her all the more for it. 

“Hey, Gohan!” Trunks plopped down next to the man, appearing significantly happier, if also lightly covered in dark blue cat hair. 

“Hey, kiddo. Enjoying yourself?”

“Haha, yeah!” The teen leaned back, resting his arms on the back of the couch, “What about you? Why aren’t you walking around, talking to people? You  _ are  _ the man of the hour, after all, right?”

It hadn’t been outright said, since there were people here outside of their inner circle, so _technically _this party wasn’t for him. However, the people who really mattered to the older saiyan knew, and that’s all that mattered to Gohan.

He shrugged in response. “Eh, I guess parties just aren’t really my thing.”

  
  
  


_ -Eighteen- _

_ Parties are  _ ** _definitely _ ** _ not my thing anymore _

Eighteen thought to herself as she pushed her way through the crowded streets. After some self-contained discourse, she’d eventually decided to don her disguise and check out what this ‘party’ was like.

Why?

_ Because what else is there to do, now? _

Her home had quite literally been blown up. 

Her brother wanted nothing to do with her.

She could no longer go on a rampage with her power for a  _ number  _ of reasons.

Standing in that broken, dilapidated home, Eighteen had come to the slow realization that she no longer had any place to go, or anything to  _ do _ .

She had no plans to speak of, no goals to work towards, no interests to pursue.

When you’ve lived a life where you can do anything you want, whenever you want… what do you do when, suddenly, you can’t?

_ Wander down some streets, I guess… _

The woman thought absentmindedly to herself as she turned a corner and slipped into an alleyway, finally finding breathing room amongst the sea of sweaty, stinky human  _ filth  _ surrounding her.

_ This was a horrible idea. _

Now she was  _ stuck  _ down here until she found a reasonable area to slip away, lest she raised any suspicions.

Her feet slapped against the wet ground as she exited out the other end of the alleyway only to see yet  _ another  _ sea of people awaiting her.

The girl let out an audible groan of despair. 

“Hey now, what’s got a cutie like you moaning like that?”  
She turned her head, catching sight of a young man with straight blonde hair neatly combed back and draping over his shoulders slightly. 

“Definitely  _ not  _ you,” She responded coldly, crossing her arms and looking away with a scowl.

He was attractive, if in a traditional sense she supposed. He was wearing a  _ very  _ form fitting T-shirt that revealed that he was quite built, likely someone who visited the gym regularly. His face was handsome—a strong jawline, good complexion, but that  _ smug  _ smirk that pulled at the corner of his mouth was what truly  _ irked  _ her. It bled a confidence that was undeserved, a conceited reflection of himself that emanated from the way he looked at her like he already had her.

_ Kami, I hate guys like that. Complete tools who think that women should just bow to them because they're hot. See, at least with Gohan, he— _

Her thought stopped midway as her brow furrowed.

_ Gohan? _

She frowned. why’d she just bring up Gohan when talking about attractive guys…

_ Nope. Not gonna explore that thought.  _

It was a head glitch, a mental stumble. 

Yeah, that’s what it was. 

He let out a laugh that she could tell was practiced to try and sound attractive. She decided to focus on it to clear her thoughts.

“Ah, come on sweetheart! No need to be rude. I’m just trying to play nice.”

_ Ugh, I hate that look. Staring at me like I’m a slab of meat. _

The way his eyes took her in was so predatorial, and  _ not  _ in the sexy way. 

“Not interested.” She spoke with a threatening edge, shooting the man a glare in the process. She turned her head, her gaze fell on the ocean of people in front of her, blocking her way out of the small space where she could see several had taken refuge. 

She  _ wanted  _ to walk away and end the conversation there, but that would involve pushing her way  _ back  _ into the crowds flooding the streets.

“Alright, alright.” His hands rose in a surrender. “I can take a hint. I’ll leave you be.” His gaze softened, looking out to watch the people dancing, singing, and staggering before them. 

Out of the corner of her eye she watched as he suddenly raised his hands to cup his mouth before calling out, “We’re still here!”

Immediately, Eighteen knew what was to come. She braced herself as suddenly all the voices around them repeated the phrase and announcing it in one mighty—

“ **WE’RE STILL HERE!** ”

Eighteen growled slightly as the noise settled down.

“Why do you even do that?” She asked sharply.

“Huh?” He responded with his brows furrowing, “You know… I don’t really know. It’s just sorta something I caught onto after joining the party”

_ Figures _ .

She’d suspected that it was simply a chant to revel in the fact that they hadn’t had to leave their homes to be destroyed this time around. She supposed that was as good a reason as any for people as weak as them to get excited.

She was about to turn to leave, bored of the man and this conversation.

“I think it’s our way of fighting back,” he said in a tone that told her that he’d only just thought of it.

She paused.

Turning back to him, her brows furrowed. “What?”. 

That didn’t make any sense, chanting  _ three words  _ was not ‘fighting back’ by any stretch of the imagination. 

“You know, it’s like this whole little celebration is our way of telling the Androids that we aren’t gonna roll over and die. We chant it cause we want them to hear it, to know that they failed, and that we’re still alive.” He smiled slightly, his gaze looking over the multitude of faces before them. “Even if the only one of us that can do any real harm to those monsters is the Golden Warrior, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been fighting to survive ourselves. I mean, how many times have you had to drop everything, abandon everything you own and run for your life, hoping you weren’t the unlucky guy who happened to fall in their sights.”

“...Too many times…” She responded how she pictured someone who would have had to run for their lives every time she and her brother came out to cut loose and enjoy themselves.

“Exactly my point. And I mean, fuck is it hard to rebuild afterwards, I’m sure you don’t want to hear it, but like, no one even  _ talks  _ about it.” He let out a sigh. “I guess it’s just because everyone is going through it, not like it's something new to complain about.”

She watched him reach down and dig through a cooler she hadn’t noticed was at his feet. He produced two cans before offering one to her. 

“Drink?” He said plainly.

She stared down at the beer, her mind reflecting on what he’d said. She’d always  _ known  _ that the devastation left behind her and her brother’s ‘play times’ was just that,  _ devastation _ . It’d always been humorous to Seventeen and her, watching them rebuild their cities so rapidly only to be obliterated again the next time. It was like they were at a bowling alley, resetting the pins so that she and Seventeen could have fun knocking them back down. To her, it had been like watching little ants scramble about after you kick over their hill. Just frivolous little ants that were so insignificant, so  _ weak  _ that they couldn’t even hope to fight back.

_ Fighting back… _

The concept had seemed strange at first. That  _ this  _ could be considered  _ fighting back _ .

Then she remembered just how  _ pissed  _ she’d been when she first realized that the entire celebration was to spite her and her brother’s failure. 

_ … Well played, humanity. _

They couldn’t hope to physically hurt her in a million years, so they’d decided to collectively do the next best thing. 

It was almost... if only just  _ barely _ , impressive. 

She tried to recall just how many times she and her brother had come down to ruin  _ this  _ particular city in just the past five years. 

She couldn’t remember. 

Too many times to count. 

The man’s arm began to lower, shrugging as he looked away. “Your loss,”

Just before the can was gone, Eighteen reached out and plucked it from his fingers. 

He raised an eyebrow towards her before smirking in that same way he’d done before.

“None of that.” She threatened.

He appeared confused.

“You start with that flirty bullshit again and I’m out of here. You’re not gonna get any from me. You’re  _ definitely  _ not my type.”

She watched the man pause, seemingly reflecting on her words before laughing. “You know, you remind me of someone I used to know.”

“...” Eighteen decided to glare daggers into him, showing to him that she was serious.

“Fine, fine, whatever. Sheesh.” He looked away with a frown. “Didn’t really feel like it, anyway…” He shrugged before taking a sip from his drink.

“...”

“...”

She didn’t know why she’d decided to accept the drink. She hadn’t known why she’d decided to come down here in the first place. They were mere  _ ants  _ to her right? Insects that deserved little more attention than a passing  _ glance  _ and nothing more.

“...”

...Though she supposed it couldn’t  _ hurt  _ to learn more about them.

It wasn’t like she had anything better to do.

“...Videl.”

His head snapped towards her so quickly that it almost startled the android. “What did you just say?”

It was Eighteen’s turn to be confused. Why was he looking at her like she’d just grown a second head? “My name… it’s Videl.” 

She watched as his eyes, already wide as saucers, stared at her unblinkingly. His face was stiff like she’d just revealed her secret identity to him.

She began to worry.

Was that what she just did?

Finally, pushing his hand through his hair he let out a soft, incredulous laugh, like someone who couldn’t believe their eyes. “Man! That’s such a  _ strange  _ coincidence!”

“...What is?” She asked, confused.

He shook his hand waving away the confusion, “Nothing, nothing. just--the friend you reminded me of and your name just-” He let out a short chuckle, shaking his head. “It’s nothing, just an odd coincidence, is all.”

_ A coincidence? What does that mean? _

Before she could question further, his free hand stretched out towards her, offering her a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Videl. Name’s Sharpener.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all and welcome back! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. I genuinely don’t know the reason, but this story is just so interesting to explore!  
Also, if you noticed that this chapter in particular was cleaner than my normal chapters, then you have Ben Thryss to thank as he’s very recently taken on the difficult job of beta reading for yours truly (he even went back and cleaned up chapter 11, what a guy!). My grammar isn’t always the best, so his help has been quite a learning experience haha.  
In all seriousness, please give him a shout out in the comments, he worked hard on this chapter and deserves some praise for it :).
> 
> Also, in case there are those of you with this concern, no, Sharpener is not going to become a main character of the series. I simply chose to include his character as a little head nod to his character back in the main series. I like to pay homage to the original canon at times you may have noticed :).
> 
> Anyhow, please tell me what you thought of the chapter as a whole! Comments’s push my desire to complete this story. (Also, this story is finally caught up on this site, so from now on it will be updated simultaneously with the original post.)


	13. Talking With A Monster Chapter 13: Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events that transpired in West city a month ago, androids Seventeen and Eighteen are left to their own devices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a man of my word. Ao3 will now get updates at the same time as my other site. I apologize for the inconvenience before.

* * *

_ -Four Weeks Later- _

Eighteen nimbly stepped to the side as she avoided a large, stumbling man she’d predicted had been unaware of her presence.

She was right.

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that, lass! Didn’t spot ya-”  
She was already several steps away, continuing down the road. Frowning, she continued to pay the robust man no mind.

Growing annoyed, she drew back yet another strand of hair that had managed to fall in front of her face. Her spectacles didn’t help in the matter as they slid down due to the moisture in the air.

She’d taken to donning her disguise more and more over the past several days.

It was the only way she went out anymore. 

Today she’d chosen some simple black tights and a grey sweatshirt with the bold word ‘JUMP!’ written in blue on her chest. Her shoes, a pair of matching blue sneakers, slapped as they met with the puddles lying unavoidable across the road. 

_ Stupid rain clouds. _

She scowled, her brown eyes narrowing as she squinted up at the grey sky. She could feel the dampness in the air all around her. She frowned when she felt something wet hit her cheek.

_It _**_just _**_stopped raining! Is it seriously about to rain again?!__  
_ Another drop struck her shoulder, confirming her suspicion just before two more splashed against her tights.

_ Fuck! _

The woman began to dart forward, aware of the few humans walking some distance behind her. She felt so _sluggish _having to run at the speed a typical woman her age could run.   
She could feel the patter starting to come down harder now, hundreds of tiny droplets falling down and meeting with the fabric of her sweatshirt.

She’d decided against bringing an umbrella with her due to the fact that she hadn’t planned to go far—just to the corner store and right back!

Eighteen rounded the corner a moment later, the glow of the convenience store’s sign bathing her in a bright, neon green light as she stepped inside. 

“Videl?” 

Eighteen let out a slow sigh as her shoulders slumped, her eyes resigned into a position that read ‘this might as well happen’.

She knew exactly what he was going to say.

“Videl? That you?” 

Stepping out from a room in the back was a rather hairy looking individual. Eighteen had been able to decipher that the man was somewhere in his late fifties, early sixties. His understanding of the language was rough at best, and had an accent that she couldn’t place for the life of her. Although, one fact he’d made abundantly clear about his personality, was that he seemed to only have  _ one  _ volume output.

_ Loud _ .

“Videl! I know that you because you not answer- Oh! Videl!” His eyes lit up as they landed on her very annoyed looking expression.

“Hello, Joe.” She responded in her typical flat tone that she used for people interactions. She knew that his real name was probably not Joe, but he introduced himself as Joe for everyone who entered. She figured it was just easier to say ‘Joe’ than try and teach foreigners how to pronounce his real name. 

“I knew you not have umbrella today!” He bellowed, wagging a sausage of a finger her direction.   
“Didn’t think I’d need it.” She responded coldly as she usually did when interacting with the man. 

“Didn’t  _ think _ !” He repeated nodding his head. “That true!”

Eighteen rolled her eyes as she raised a finger towards the wall of tobacco products. She’d taken to smoking as of late. Not out any deep rooted desire to smoke, but simply because it gave her something to  _ do _ . She didn’t like to drink alone—too depressing—and she didn’t  _ really  _ feel like taking any heavy drugs to pass the time. She figured this was a better alternative.

It gave her an errand to run every week as least. 

“I’ll have the-”  
She watched as the man retrieved seemingly from the air itself a pack of familiar red and white cigarettes. He smirked, raising his eyebrows as he offered it to her.

“...Yeah, that.” She responded with a bemused smirk. The man knew her routine. Clever. She handed him the zeni a moment later, having remembered what the price would be.   
Eighteen blinked as a flash of lightning cut across the rapidly darkening skies. Her cold eyes shifted, peering out at the heavy rain coming down in torrents.

She frowned, allowing a defeated sigh to escape her lips.  
“Hey… you got any umbrellas by chance?” She asked, looking questioningly at the bearded man.

“Hm!” He grunted as he reached over the counter, grabbing one wrapped in plastic resting at the corner.

“Now, you going to remember umbrella next time?!” He ordered as he aimed the end of the red device towards her chest.

She rolled her eyes as she took it from the man. She couldn’t understand why he seemed so intent on acting like her dad every time she came in. She’d always tried to keep her interactions with people relatively short before they started to _annoy _her. Despite her best efforts, however, this guy seemed _determined _to bother her just as much as he could get away with.

And by bother, she meant that he liked to talk her ear off.  
“How much do I owe you?”  
He waved a dismissive hand. “Eh, just take it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Thanks.”

Another crack of thunder rippled through the small convenience store. She turned her head back towards the glass door, staring with a frown as she watched the rain grow harsher.

It sounded like a stampede of bison racing by as it hammered down on the pavement.

“You should wait till rain passes!” He bellowed gruffly.

Eighteen drew closer to the glass, peering upward at the darkened sky. She could feel the cold radiating from the window pane and see the harsh wind rolling debris and litter down the road.

_ It’s going to be freezing out there. _

She took a nervous glance down at her outfit. The tights had already been partially soaked from the light downpour she’d been caught in earlier, although she supposed they were only damp now. Her sweatshirt was doing better… but she knew it wouldn’t last more than a minute in that kind of weather.

Her half lidded eyes glanced down at the umbrella gripped within her fingers. She studied it for a short time, frowning as she concluded that there wasn’t a chance in hell this little piece of plastic and cheap fabric was going to keep her dry.

She sighed.

“Yeah, alright. I guess I’m hanging around here for awhile…” 

“It not so bad! Should be clear soon!”

_ Yeah, I sure hope so for my sanity.  _

She pulled out her phone a moment later, hoping that her checking her texts would send him a clear enough message that she did _not_ want to chat with him.

“You know, you look the same age as my son!” He beamed. “Handsome young man! I should introduce you two!”

She should have known that he wouldn’t pick up on her social cue. 

Her brow furrowed. Did he just say ‘son’?  
_Ohhh, so that’s why he likes to bug me so much!_

He thought she was pretty and wanted to help his son out. She supposed that it was a compliment more than anything. She felt the corner of her lips rise ever so slightly. 

“He come in some time! Never when you here though.” He frowned. “You should come more often!”

“Hmm, you know, it makes way too much sense that you’re a dad.” She responded coyly.

“What that mean?” He raised an eyebrow. 

_ C’mon man, you’ve got a total dad-bod going on. _

“Hmm, you just have this sort of, ‘dad’ vibe going on.”

The man’s eyebrows knit together in thought before nodding, “That make sense. I’m going in back for second. Make sure no one take anything!” He announced as he disappeared into the back room.

Eighteen frowned looking around. 

There was no one else here! 

She raised an eyebrow as she realized that the shop owner trusted  _ her  _ not to steal anything or do anything wrong while he was gone. 

She snorted at the irony before looking back down to her phone.

She didn’t have many messages. She didn’t have that many people to talk to. 

She hadn’t gotten any calls or messages from Seventeen. She’d gone back to the house a few days after the incident just to check on him, but his cleared out room told her that he’d moved on already. She knew that he could be anywhere now and she had no way to track him down. 

The girl’s shoulders sagged as her gaze grew far away. 

_ ...I hope he’s doing alright… _

She missed him. She didn’t know she would so much since they were adults—they went off on their own all the time. She just didn’t realize how different it would feel when she came back to an empty house. She’d never expected absolute silence to be so  _ loud  _ before. She kept expecting to hear his noise from across the house like normal, and to get the opportunity to tell him to shut up like she would normally do. 

She grinned. 

_ I miss telling my brother to shut it.  _

Slowly, that grin fell away as she was reminded that she  _ wasn’t  _ going home to a mouthy twin brother. She  _ wasn’t  _ going to get the chance to snip at him and trade jabs with the Android like she’d grown so accustomed to. 

She was going to go home, by herself, and be alone. 

_ Well gee, isn’t that just  _ ** _depressing_ ** _ . _

She scowled, idly scrolling through the last conversation she’d had with her brother before things turned south. After a few seconds she concluded that it was just some dumb conversation about giraffes, including a drawing of the animal using its massive neck like the blades on a hellicopter to take flight.

She’d wanted it to be something significant, something that conveyed something more powerful than a stupid joke, but she supposed that not many people get to choose what their last conversation with a person will be. 

She frowned.  _ Last  _ conversation? 

_ It’s not like I’m never going to see him again… right? _

A part of herself was sure that Seventeen wouldn’t hold his grudge forever—that eventually, he’d learn to forgive her. Another part of herself… was less than certain. 

She decided to exit from the conversation chain, the thoughts being too depressing for her taste.

She paused when she saw a familiar name pop up.

_ Gohan… _

The last time he’d texted had been just under two weeks ago. She scrolled through the few texts he had sent in that time, rereading them as she listened to the sky wage war with the ground far below the roaring clouds. Her eyes lingered on his final message.

‘ _ Hey Videl, hope things are okay. Haven’t heard from you in awhile. How’s your flying coming along? Probably well considering how talented you are. Text me back if you have any problems!’ _

It was a simple message, and one she knew was his last attempt at keeping contact with her. She’d decided in the end not to answer him back. It didn’t feel right to. How could she continue to respond and talk to the man responsible for crippling her only family in this world? Not only that, but he was quite literally the only threat to her on this green and brown mudball. He was the one man in the world who could and  _ would  _ destroy her given the opportunity. 

She still remembered those moments when she’d questioned if she was about to die. She still remembered how her arm had bent back in a way it shouldn’t, the heel of his boot pushing against the back of her head in a painful fashion.

It had  _ terrified  _ her. 

There was no way she was going to risk all that again. Purposely placing herself around Gohan regularly could only end badly in her mind. He would accidentally pull her wig, or she would slip up in her act and give herself away. Either way, she could only see their interactions ending with a conflict that she knew now for certain she would not win. 

Besides, it wasn’t like she had a proper  _ reason  _ to hang out with the young man anymore. She’d only hung around for as long as she did waiting for the right time to ask him her question about how to convince Seventeen. Then, the problem kind of solved itself. Seventeen physically  _ couldn’t  _ risk acting out again, so what was the point of convincing him now?

_ Not like he’d listen now even if I tried _ …

The way she saw it, there was no way she could slice it that would make  _ sense  _ for her to continue speaking with Gohan. 

Besides, it wasn’t like she actually  _ enjoyed  _ hanging out with the one-armed wonder. He’d been a means to an end, nothing more. 

“...”

Eighteen slowly stretched out her senses, narrowing her eyes as she let her mind take in the many colorful energies all around her. She could feel everyone,  _ know  _ where everyone was with this one little skill. She could feel Joe in the back, his signature was in a calm state, likely due to him working on some boring task involving store supplies she assumed. 

Gradually, she stretched out her senses enough to find Gohan’s energy signature again. She liked to check on his whereabouts every now and then, just to make sure that he wasn’t too close at any given time. She let her ki focus on his for a time, taking a moment to acknowledge how peaceful it felt in that moment. It felt like he was back at his apartment right now, likely relaxing in some way, waiting out the storm just like she was.

She wondered if he was staring out of a window too, watching the rain fall as he too waited for it to end. 

_ Wonder what he’s up to nowadays _ …

He definitely still felt strong. She’d sensed him training with Trunks a few times now over the past several weeks, so she knew that he definitely wasn’t getting weaker any time soon. Sometimes she would follow the fight in her head just to pass the time. She’d try and picture what their movements would be as she interpreted their Ki.

It was good for a little bit of fun.

_Wait… what’s that?__  
_ Eighteen frowned as suddenly her attention was pulled away from Gohan and brought back to just outside the small shop.

She felt someone, an energy rushing towards the front door in a full sprint. 

She took a couple steps back just before a man in all black burst through the door, sending a splatter of rain across the dirty looking tile. 

Eighteen studied the man as his gaze eventually noticed her standing next to the counter. 

Their eyes locked, and Eighteen noticed his eyes widened in surprise… for some reason. 

He looked relatively young; mid twenties, perhaps, with a decent build. His coat was large, with a hood that covered part of his face as she studied him. 

“Uh, hey,” he said dumbly.  
“Hey.”

He looked over towards the counter with furrowed brows before turning back to her. “You know where Joe went?”

Eighteen’s eyebrow arched. He knew Joe?

_ Could this be his son? _

She began to study his face more. She supposed his complexion wasn’t  _ too  _ far off from Joe’s, although she knew he could have also taken after his mom. 

Either way, it wasn’t like it was any of her business anyway.

“He’s in the back.” She gestured with a thumb.

“Oh.” The man’s eyes shifted towards the door left ajar leading to whatever lay in the back room. “Thanks.” He nodded before casually walking around the counter and disappearing within. She watched him as he stepped, her eyes narrowing to slits as she continued to study him. 

_ Why is his energy acting like that? _

It was so odd. She’d noticed it when he ran in still dripping wet from outside. It was  _ spiking _ . Well, as much as a normal  _ human’s  _ energy could spike. It felt like Gohan’s or Trunks’ when they were fighting, adrenaline rushing through them as they traded blows at lightning speeds.

_ What does this guy have to be so tense about? _

He’d been just having a casual conversation, why was his energy acting like he was fighting for his life?

_ Odd. _

She shrugged as she turned to examine the skies again. It wasn’t like it mattered to her.

Her brows raised as she noticed the rain finally dying down. It was still pouring, but not so much she didn’t believe her recently acquired umbrella couldn’t handle.

_ Thanks, Joe.  _

She thought to herself as she stepped out of the store, popping open the red parasol-like device and quietly making the journey back. She continued to expand her senses, hoping to see if Gohan or Trunks had gone anywhere since she’d last checked. 

_ ...Wonder if Gohan really was waiting for the rain to stop. _

Eighteen blinked before her head whipped back towards the convenience store, her brows knitted together.

Now she could sense that guy  _ and  _ Joe’s energy spiking. 

_ ...The Hell? _

Should she go back? Was there something wrong?

_ ...Maybe that guy  _ ** _wasn’t _ ** _ Joe’s son… _

She stood stiff as her eyes continued to hold on the glass door shrouded in neon light.  
She frowned. 

It wasn’t like it was  _ her  _ responsibility to do something. Besides, why should  _ she  _ involve herself in the matters of some petty humans? It’s not like they  _ mattered,  _ anyway. If Joe was too weak to protect himself from whatever that guy wanted from him, then that was his fault. 

No skin off her back. 

Nope. 

Not one bit.   
“...” 

Eighteen‘s eyes lingered on the parasol handle gripped firmly in her fingers. 

The one Joe… gave her...

She let out a sigh that slowly transitioned to an annoyed growl, before beginning to stomp her way back towards the convenience store.    
  


* * *

_ -Joe- _

_ This is bad,  _ ** _very _ ** **bad** . 

He knew who the man was the moment he’d laid eyes on him. He knew why he was here, and how to make him go away. 

The only problem was that he was  _ early _ .

“How ya been, Joe?” The man spoke casually, almost as if he were addressing a friend. 

Joe’s eyes narrowed to slits. 

“You two days earlier Jack.” Joe knew it wasn’t his real name, but it was the alias he seemed to go by whenever he ran his ‘business’.  
“Oh, I’m quite aware that I’m early, _Joe_,” the man said with a devious looking grin on his face. “You see, the problem is that I ain't gonna be in town for the next couple of weeks… so I’m gonna need your ‘rent’ _early, _I’m afraid.”

Rent, what a stupid name to call it. 

_ Call it what it  _ ** _really _ ** _ is.  _

A shakedown, a ‘protection’ so that he and his lackeys didn’t come back and destroy his store… or worse.

Joe felt a nervous trickle of sweat working its way down the center of his back. 

“I don’t have it now.”

He swallowed. It was the unfortunate truth. He knew that his store rarely made a profit margin between the regular shake downs, robberies, and other catastrophes that regularly cut into his bills. He’d even considered quitting at times, shutting down the shop and starting anew.   
But this was _his _store. It had taken him _years _just to earn this, and even if it wasn’t much, it was still his. 

It was just unfortunate that  _ this  _ was happening  _ now _ . 

“...Joe, Joe, Joe…” The man shook his head, the smile slowly slipping from his face as he leaned against the wall. His hand gripped tightly around  _ something  _ within his coat pocket. “You know that my  _ policies  _ are  _ very  _ strict. I can’t have one of my most  _ valued customers  _ slipping on his payments can I?”

“You here  **two days early** .” He growled in response. 

Jack smiled wide.

“Well, I won’t be able to collect it in two days.” The younger man pushed himself off the wall, the smile melting from his features as he approached the older man. Jack waited until he was standing inches away from the old store owner before he hissed the rest of his message. “So, I’m collecting it  ** _now_ ** . But since it seems you  _ ‘ _ don’t have it _ ’ _ .” he mocked, “It looks like I’ll have to give you yet  _ another  _ reminder of why it’s so important to meet these deadlines.”

Joe watched with a tired expression as the man pulled his hands out of his coat, his fingers curled into fists. The old man knew the  _ real  _ reason this was happening. He doubted Jack was actually going anywhere at all in the next couple days; he just enjoyed the power trip of beating up an old man because he  _ could _ . The ‘trip’ was just an excuse for him to get the chance. Joe knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that this  _ idiot  _ was actually the head of whatever gang he was a part of. He was probably the bottom of the food chain there, but here?

Here he could be number one. The strongest. The one on top.

_ Just another monster. _

Another person who found pleasure in tearing everyone down. 

Joe  _ hated  _ people like him. 

The old man watched as Jack’s arm began to pull back-

** _Click._ **

Joe’s eyes nit together as suddenly the lights all went out, shrouding them in a complete darkness.

_ Was that the breaker? _

“Hey, what the hell is-”  
The old man jumped as he heard a sudden, _violent, _snapping noise right in front of him. 

The room filled with screams.

“FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!”

It sounded like Jack was on the ground now, scooting away as he shambled around in the dark.

“M-my fucking arm!” He screamed. It sounded that the young man was on the brink of  _ crying _ .

_ His arm? _

Joe took a wary step back, rapidly blinking as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. 

_ What the hell is going on?! _

The old man paused as he noticed movement somewhere to his left, although in the darkness he couldn’t hope to distinguish who or what it was. 

“H-hello?” he let out in a nervous squeak. Was someone else there?

“F-fuck, man! It’s fucking broken!” Jack stammered. Joe could picture the man clutching his arm right now in pain.

The old man took another cautious step back.

And felt a  _ hand  _ place itself on the center of his back. 

The old man froze immediately. He didn’t know who or  _ what  _ this thing was behind him, but he knew that Jack’s arm likely hadn’t broken itself.

Joe felt his body begin to tremble. He knew there were people out there who could break other’s bones like they were nothing. The golden warrior, the androids, even King Piccolo all those years ago. 

Was the being behind him like  _ those  _ people? 

_ Am I about to die? _

“Calm,” the voice suddenly said as if they could feel his terror, which he figured they likely could, considering how much he was trembling. “I won’t hurt you.”

The voice sounded… vaguely familiar, although it was clear whoever it was was definitely trying to mask how they actually spoke with a low, smokey tone. 

“H-hey! Who’s that!” Jack’s nervous voice called out across the room. “You- you brought someone else?” 

Joe’s eyes were beginning to adjust somewhat to the low light. He could make out the vague shape of Jack now, across the room and slumped against the wall. His eyes bulged when he eventually saw the younger man’s arm.   
It looked like it had been _folded back _at the middle of his forearm.

Suddenly, Joe was glad that he couldn’t see very much detail. 

“I-I told you what would happen if you tried some shit!” Jack’s terrified voice began to bleed with anger. The man began to scramble with his other hand, digging into his pocket as he pulled out the object he’d been holding before. 

Joe didn’t know much about guns, but he knew a pistol when he saw one. 

A second later, he was staring down its barrel.

He closed his eyes, knowing that there was nowhere to go in this cramped space. He wished he had time to say something, to stop it and try to explain that whoever was behind him was definitely  _ not  _ a part of his plans. He wished he could have changed a number of things to prevent this exact moment from ever happening. 

No time for it now. 

He flinched as he heard the gun fire off three shots, and then frowned when he realized that  _ none  _ of them had struck him.

“W-what? W-who are you?” Jack said in a tone that told Joe that he was absolutely  _ petrified _ .

_ ...What? _

He opened his eyes.

He couldn’t understand what he was seeing. 

He could see a smaller figure leaning over the trembling man, the gun now in their hand. Joe’s eyes narrowed to slits as he tried to make out any features to this mysterious… savior?

Were they  _ saving  _ him right now?

He couldn’t make out anything specific about them except for their size, they were definitely small, possibly female?

He didn’t dare get closer to get a better look. 

He watched quietly as the figure slowly raised the gun until the barrel was pressed flush with the side of their head.

He felt his tremble return as they pulled back the trigger seven more times, the room exploding with sound before the gun clicked empty. A second later, the weapon crumpled in their hand like it was an empty aluminum can before clattering to the ground uselessly. 

“Now, I want you to send a message to whoever you need to that Joe’s shop,” They gestured a finger over their shoulder, “is now a part of  ** _my _ ** territory. That is, unless you would like to  _ challenge  _ me for it?”

The old man felt like his skin was going to crawl from the way this mysterious figure spoke. It felt like he was listening to a  _ serial killer _ . Whoever they were, they definitely knew how to sound terrifying. 

“N-no, no!” The vague shape of Jack’s head shook left and right frantically, it sounded like he was outright  _ crying  _ now.

“Good.”

The old shop keep felt a rush of wind as the figure moved past him in an instant. A few seconds later, the lights all cut on. 

Joe and Jack stared at each other for a short time. He could see tears and snot running down the young man’s face.

He tried to avert his eyes from the now dangling arm.

A few seconds later, the young man scrambled to his feet, shooting Joe one last terrified glance before rushing out of the store as fast as his feet could carry him. 

Joe stood still, staring at the spot Jack had just been sitting before turning to look all around him just in case he wasn’t  _ actually  _ alone this time. 

It seemed he was.

The old man frowned, returning his gaze to the spot across the room. Eventually, he cupped his hands over his mouth and called out in a confused tone, “Thank you!”

* * *

  
  


- _ Eighteen- _

The woman hummed as she continued to casually stride down the street, the red umbrella now twirling in her hand as she wore a very slight grin.

_ That… was kinda fun. _

She had to admit, she _missed _getting the chance to push around and_ break _these puny humans. It felt good to be like her old self again… if only just a _little_.

Her eyes began to slowly wander as she started to look down roads that were not  _ necessarily  _ on her route home. 

Her senses stretch out a little more.

_ I wonder if there are any other stressed out energy signatures around… _

* * *

  
  


_ -Seventeen- _

_ Ugh, this is so bothersome! _

He absolutely  _ hated  _ having to be careful with such weak pieces of life. His gaze fell on the group of trembling co-workers huddled in the corner staring back at him with wide, terror filled eyes. They were each wearing a lab coat, some had goggles on, and he figured they had likely been hard at work before he crashed through the ceiling.

He was standing, bored, in the center of what he could only distinguish as some type of lab. He could see some very sophisticated looking tools as well as machinery for mechanisms so odd he could only  _ barely  _ venture a guess as to what they were actually intended to  _ do _ .

But that was only an indication to the Android that he was actually in the right spot this time. 

“S-so, what can I-I do for you, sir?”

Seventeen lazily turned his head until he was glaring at the man this entire operation was centered on. 

Dr. Challenger, a man who appeared to be in his early seventies at least, based on his silver head of hair and the burly mustache that nearly completely engulfed his upper lip. His eyes were narrow slits from constantly squinting behind large spectacles. His relatively thin limbs trembling in fright. He was sitting on a swivel chair before a desk littered with scattered papers and strange looking diagrams that appeared to Seventeen as vaguely robotic in nature.

“Well doc, I have a  _ slight  _ problem.” 

Seventeen had chosen to wear a hoodie to this engagement solely because it allowed him to tuck the loose sleeve meant for his right arm into the pocket. He’d questioned if it made him childish for that mattering to him. In the end, he supposed it didn’t really make a difference one way or another.

He struggled for a moment to pull the hoodie over his head, one arm pushing awkwardly at one side until the piece of clothing was tossed away.   
He’d worn a short sleeve white T-shirt specifically because it had allowed for easy access to his _wound._

Seventeen glared at the injury, scowling before turning his eyes back to the doctor. 

“So, see  _ this? _ ” He gestured at the loose cabling and machinery partially sticking out of his shoulder. “It’s  _ supposed  _ to look like this.” He motioned with his chin towards his left side. His blue eyes narrowed to slits. “Get the picture?”

The elderly man swallowed. Seventeen could see droplets of sweat forming around his forehead and neck. 

_ Good, he’s squeamish. This should be a piece of cake. _

The Android smirked as he watched the man try to rapidly compose himself.

“A-and if I c-choose not to?” 

Seventeen spotted a flicker of defiance in the man’s tone. His lips curled up into a smirk as he let his head hang to the side.

“I mean...” His grin twisted into a sickening snarl, his hand raising towards the group of people huddled in the corner of the room by his own commands. “If you need me to  _ explain _ ...” 

Golden energy began to fill within the Androids palm as cries of terror and fear flooded the room. 

“No! No, I understand completely! I don’t need any further explaining!” The man rose to his feet, his eyes wide with panic as his jaw trembled in fear. 

Seventeen’s harsh gaze eased, his smile returning to its typical boyish charm—or so he liked to think.

“Wonderful news Doc, glad to hear it. Now, I know this goes without saying, but understand that I don’t need to  _ blink  _ if I don’t want to. I’ll be watching you  _ very  _ closely, and if I get even the  _ slightest  _ feeling like you’re doing something…  _ tricky _ ,” he snarled, “know that I will tear all of your limbs off one by one, saving your head for last, and trust me, you’ll be alive through  _ all of it _ . I know, I’ve practiced that  _ trick a _ lot.”

Dr. Challenger let out a shaky breath as he nodded his head very slowly up and down. 

“But I request that you let my colleagues go before we can go any further. They are wholly unnecessary to my fixing your arm. That is my only condition.”

Seventeen raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think you’re in any position to start making demands, Mr. Mustache.” His hand slowly began to raise, realigning with the group as he locked eyes with the doctor. “Should I pick off one or two of your co-workers to get the message across?”

“If you kill any one of them then I will have no reason to believe you’ll spare any of us!” Dr. Challenger stammered in a frantic string of words, desperation laced with his defiance. “I will have no belief that you will honor our deal, or that I will have my life at the end. Thus, I will have  _ no reason  _ to fix your arm.”

Seventeen growled as the man met his stare, defiantly glaring back at him.  
“What the _fuck _did you just say to me?” He snarled before his hand shot out, snatching the doctor by his throat before raising him into the air in one violent, jerking motion. In an instant Seventeen saw that _noncompliant _look drain from the man’s features only to be replaced by an expression of sheer pain and terror. His face strained as his lips parted for air, making desperate gagging noises as his legs kicked out helplessly just above the white tiles. 

The Android smirked as he continued to hold the man there, watching as the doctor clawed at his fingers like he had any chance of breaking them free.

He enjoyed watching the man struggle, watching an individual who  _ thought  _ they were strong be reminded of just how  _ weak  _ and  _ stupid  _ they really are was so  _ satisfying  _ to watch. To Seventeen, it scratched the same itch as watching videos of rude assholes online getting their ass kicked, but on a much deeper,  _ personal  _ level.

It was almost therapeutic, he felt, getting the chance to put the weak in their place.

The only problem was that he happened to actually  _ need  _ this guy alive. Otherwise, he felt it would be fitting to let the doctor dangle there until he slowly stopped trying to fight back and he just became a limp corpse that he could then  _ throw _ at the others.

Either that or he’d get bored midway through the process and decide to close his hand into a fist. Whichever came first, he’d accept both options.

He watched as the elderly man’s hands finally began to slow until they were only just barely hanging onto his wrist. Seventeen could see his face slipping from consciousness.

He growled, annoyed that he couldn’t do what he  _ actually  _ wanted to do, before releasing his hold. Dr. Challenger crumpled to the ground. He took one massive breath before erupting in a fit of raspy, strained coughing forcing his entire body to shake from the effort.

“Now, I’m going to assume that ‘cough, cough’ means that you understand me loud and clear,  _ correct? _ ” His last word adopted a sinister tone.

“My conditions—” Dr. Challenger managed to cough out, pausing as he swallowed with a pained expression. Slowly, the doctor began to push himself to his hands and knees. “—remain the  **same** .”

Seventeen’s eyes narrowed to slits. 

_ Aren’t doctors supposed to be smart? Like, they get a degree and everything, right? _

He growled as the elderly man lifted his head, his gaze challenging his own once more. 

_ So why is this one so  _ ** _dense?!_ **

“Well, then!” He announced in a loud, animated fashion that only  _ barely  _ hid the boiling  _ rage  _ he was feeling towards the man. “Looks like we’re going to need a repeat lesson!” 

He took a step towards the doctor that immediately sent the old man scrambling back, his eyes full of fright.

“W-wait! The  _ reason  _ I’m demanding for them to leave is simply because I  _ can’t focus  _ if my colleagues are huddled in the corner of the room whimpering and crying in fear. What more, do you mean to tell me you plan to routinely give everyone bathroom and water breaks for the  _ weeks  _ it takes me to complete your arm?”

Seventeen blinked. Did he just say weeks?

The Android paused, his brow knitting together as he gave it some thought. He didn’t know why but he’d always figured it would only take an afternoon or two to redesign his arm. He knew Dr. Gero had always been able to complete repairs in mere  _ hours _ depending on what damage had been done. Seventeen recalled an experience back in the beginning, before he’d known what Dr. Gero had actually done to him. They’d been testing their power cores, running their routine assessment when suddenly, his core had abruptly malfunctioned. 

The result had been his torso being severed violently from the rest of his body.

He remembered those moments vividly, remembered not only thinking, but  _ knowing  _ he was going to die. He recalled looking down at himself and seeing shiny metal parts interlaced with the red bits of him he speculated were still human. Up until that point, Seventeen hadn’t  _ felt  _ the changes that Dr. Gero had been responsible for. 

Up until that point, Seventeen had still felt human. 

It wasn’t until he woke up several days after the event, his body impossibly grafted back together so seamlessly that he couldn’t even make out a scar that he thought any different. He’d known at that moment the  _ extent  _ of Dr. Gero’s changes, and knew for a fact that he was no longer a member of mankind.

He’d never told his sister that story. He figured she wouldn’t like to hear it.

But that had been when he’d been quite literally blown apart. This was just an arm, shouldn’t that be simpler? 

Or perhaps that simply spoke to Dr. Gero’s true genius. 

_ I guess I should lower my standards.  _

It wasn’t like he had a lot of options. It had already taken him weeks to finally track down this place, and he was willing to bet that he wouldn’t be so lucky if he had to search again. 

His head slowly turned to look at the men and women still crouched low in the corner. The old him would have blown them all away to solve the problem. Simply raise a hand, fire blast, and bam! No more distractions! 

The only problem with that… was he didn’t know if Dr. Challenger was being serious with refusing his request. The man was stubborn, and while Seventeen knew he could simply torture the old fool until he complied, he also didn’t want the man working on his arm to do a bad job over some  _ grudge _ . 

Not only that, but Seventeen knew what would happen if he went on a murder spree any time soon. It annoyed him to no end not knowing  _ how  _ Blondie managed to track them regardless of where they were in the world. It was like he had a little life radar and whenever too many of them went out, his stupid face would show up. He knew if that  _ did  _ happen, then he wouldn’t have a horse with a broken leg’s chance to get away. 

_ I have to be  _ ** _careful_ ** _ . _

He’d even refrained from killing the guards when they’d rushed in with their little guns. 

Or at least, he was  _ pretty  _ sure they were all still alive. 

_ That one fatty did hit the wall pretty hard… _

He supposed one or two deaths wouldn’t be enough to send Blondie running. However, this many people dying absolutely would. 

He counted at least twenty people in the group. While it had always been his experience that Blondie came chasing them around one hundred or so, he didn’t feel particularly inclined to test that threshold any time soon. 

That left two options, keep them here, or let them go. 

Keeping them here would suck, since the old man was unfortunately  _ right  _ that he would have to keep watch over them. That meant having to eventually escort them to the restroom to let them  _ piss  _ and  _ shit  _ before they started stinking up the room with their filth.

The option of letting them go simply felt wrong on principle. His immediate instincts told him that they would flee and tell someone, but then again, who would they tell? It wasn’t like they could call the police—the police would simply try to evacuate the area rather than try and engage him. The military had  _ long  _ since learned their lesson about engaging him and his sister. Blondie only came around when he started killing people as far as he could tell. It wasn’t like any of them had the man’s number he supposed. 

Seventeen’s cold gaze continued to study the group, watching as each and every nervous gaze flinched as his eyes fell on them. 

“Leave,” he finally commanded. He didn’t need them here and they were going to be  _ annoying  _ otherwise. He didn’t want to snap after several hours and kill one out of agitation, anyway. 

The team of people immediately scrambled to their feet, most rushing towards the exits while others helped pick up the guards that had been knocked out and left unconscious on the floor. 

Seventeen noticed one figure pause, a short girl with a mousy look about her. Her nervous gaze turned and looked in his direction before shifting past him and to Dr. Challenger. 

“Thank you, Ben. You’re doing a brave thing-”

“Get lost before I change my mind.” Seventeen snarled as his fingers tightened into a fist.

The woman immediately flinched as her gaze fell away. A few moments later she’d fled the facility with the rest of her associates. 

The room suddenly felt incredibly empty once they’d left. Seventeen realized how much it had been filled with their quiet, timid noises before and silently appreciated Dr. Challenger for suggesting they leave. 

_ Much less annoying, now _ .

He nodded before turning to look back at the doctor. The old man had pulled himself back to his chair, now appearing raspy and tired. His wrinkled fingers gently massaged the slowly forming bruises around his throat. 

“Well now, isn’t this just swell?” Seventeen grinned sarcastically. “I’m sure you’re aware that  _ now  _ is time to get to work right?”

Dr. Challenger nodded. “Yes, grab a chair and come sit by my desk so that I can examine the wound.”

Seventeen complied, pushing a swivel chair over before positioning to the side of the desk, his right side facing the doctor before offering out what was left of his stump shoulder. 

The two fell silent for a time as Dr. Challenger leaned in, inspecting the severed components and at times pushing something inside aside with a pencil.

“You can fix it, right?” Seventeen felt a nervous hitch in his voice that he wished wasn’t there.

“I believe so, yes,” the doctor confirmed with a nod. For some reason, the man had an extremely solemn expression on his face, like he’d already accepted he was going to die. 

Seventeen frowned. That was bad, if he thought he was going to die, Seventeen knew he might act up.

“Good, if you can fix this, then I might just have a reason to keep you around for awhile.”

_ That should give him some incentive. _

It wasn’t an all out lie by any means, either. Seventeen was beginning to realize something like this could quite possibly happen again in the future. It wouldn’t hurt to have a mechanic to fix him up in his pocket in case it did. 

The man pulled his focused gaze away from the wound for a moment to shoot the Android a brief smile. “Well then, that is certainly a relief to these old ears.”

Seventeen could still detect the sadness from earlier, but it had eased to an extent. He didn’t know if he should still feel worried that the man might betray him, but at this point, he didn’t if there was anything he could still  _ do  _ to change the matter.

He let out a slow, quiet sigh.

He  _ hated  _ being dependent on another person’s help! He’d never needed it before and to have to actively seek it out from a society he found so disgusting was…  _ agitating,  _ to say the very least.

As the minutes passed Seventeen’s bored eyes began to wander, slowly trailing over the desk until his gaze landed on a picture frame. There were three figures within the frame; one was obviously a picture of Dr. Challenger, appearing considerably younger, by Seventeen’s estimates. The other two were a similarly aged woman—his wife, Seventeen gathered from the ring on his finger—and a man roughly in his thirties posing happily beside them. It wasn’t hard to distinguish it was the man’s son based on the resemblance. 

“Cute family,” Seventeen commented, “I’ll leave them alone too if you do a good job.” The comment was both an incentive and a reminder that Seventeen could still find and hurt the people in the doctor’s life.

Dr. Challenger’s eyes shifted towards the picture, a half smile managing to pull at his lips. “Ah, yes, my wife, Emma, and son, Elijah. That picture is actually us standing outside of the police academy just after he graduated. I look forward to seeing them again at the end of the day.”

“I don’t remember asking.” he responded snidely. Just because he knew he was going to be working with the guy for a while didn’t mean he actually gave two shits about his personal life.

“Right, sorry.” The doctor nodded before pausing to cast a glance towards his watch. He made a casual reach for one of his draws before noticing Seventeen’s narrowed gaze on him. “At my age, I have a medication I need to take to keep me regular. You don’t mind, do you?”

The Android shook his head. A moment later Dr. Challenger’s hand was rummaging through the drawer before eventually producing a simple white vial. He dropped a single tablet into his palm before staring at it for a short time. Seventeen was beginning to look at him strangely before the man popped the pill into his mouth and set down the vial.

The doctor slowly eased back into his chair, sitting comfortably as Seventeen sat impatiently, waiting for the man to get back to work.

“Hey, old man, I didn’t call for a break, did I? Let’s get back to it,” he demanded.

“You know, I heard about what happened on the News. There were reports that one of the Androids was severely damaged in the most recent attack.”

Seventeen frowned. 

_ What the hell is this guy rambling on about? _

“I don’t remember asking. Now, get back to-”

“I began to consider the implications of such an attack, the ramifications and what might come of this since this is the first time in history either of you have ever taken any substantial damage.” Seventeen watched a smirk pull at the man’s lips. “And  _ that  _ is certainly substantial.”

“...What are you getting at, old man.” Seventeen felt himself growing suspicious. There was this look of smugness to him now.

He didn’t like it one bit.

“I know that the number of people in the world is far less than it once was. I am also acutely aware of the fact that there are only so many people still alive qualified to even make an attempt at repairing such an intricate mechanism. We scientists typically keep tabs on each other so that we don’t miss a major advancement in the field. Now that I’ve actually gotten to see the damage, I am confident in my assessment that there are only  _ two  _ people currently alive that could even  _ hope  _ to fix you. One of those people is  _ myself _ —” Seventeen could see his grin widening. “—and the  _ other  _ is Bulma Briefs, wherever she may be.”

“Get to the  _ point _ .” Seventeen finally snapped.

With a dismissive sigh, Dr. Challenger said, “I regret to inform you that I will  _ not  _ be mending your arm.” He let out a small cough.

Seventeen was to his feet a moment later, staring down at the man with a deep, dark hatred. “ **Why not?!** ” He hissed.

“Because I think you’re a pathetic, egotistical,  _ boy _ of a man that deserves nothing less than whatever the golden warrior has awaiting you when he  _ finds you _ again.” The man was staring  _ daggers  _ back at the Android before letting out a few raspy coughs. 

Seventeen’s arm snapped out, catching the old man by his throat before pushing him back in his chair and slamming him into the floor  _ hard. _

“Do I  _ really  _ need to remind you of what will happen if you don’t listen to me!? What I will do to you?!” He glanced back at the photo. “What I will do to your  _ family _ ?!” He spat in a roaring fury.

He watched in shock as the old doctor let out a dark laugh in response. 

“M-my son is dead. He was a first responder during the initial attacks,” he rasped in between strained breaths, before grinning back up at Seventeen. 

The Android’s eyes grew wide, he could see  _ blood  _ in the man’s teeth. 

“My wife passed away a few years back. I have no other family left. And as for myself-” He let out another cough that splattered Seventeen’s wrist in blood, “I’m afraid I had planned for this outcome as well. I imagine Bulma Briefs has made a similar realization.” He snickered.

“...You don’t actually take any medication… do you?” 

The doctor’s grin widened.

“If I have to die in order to ensure you get  _ everything  _ that’s coming to you, then I’ll  _ happily  _ make that sacrifice. So, on behalf of all of humanity, I say-” He let out a string of painful sounding coughs before sniffling up and splitting a spray of crimson that splattered against Seventeen’s cheek. 

“Go  **fuck ** yourself.”

Seventeen’s fist closed a second later. He paused, staring down at the crimson mess at the end of his arm and what had once been Dr. Challenger. He rose to his feet, his shoes and knees soaked in blood as he continued to stare down at the corpse who, moments ago, had been prepared to fix his arm. 

He’d said so.

He’d  _ confirmed  _ that he would be able to do it. 

So why…

Why was he dead on the ground now? Why wasn’t he fixing him like he said he would? It felt so surreal to Seventeen.

Because he knew that  _ Dr. Challenger _ wasn’t the only thing that had  _ died _ just moments ago.

His chances of ever getting his arm back, of ever getting back the life he’d grown so accustomed to for all these years, had just splattered across the floor with this guy’s head. 

Seventeen noticed that his vision was beginning to wobble, before realizing it was simply his entire body trembling with absolute  _ rage. _

“ **FUCK** !” He roared, before falling to his knees and slamming his forearm against the tiles, causing the entire structure to rumble as a massive spider web of splinters shot out in all directions.

He stared down at the red slowly pooling all around him. 

This had been his only option, the only way he was getting his arm back. He’d done his research, he’d scouted out and accidentally flown to a handful of research facilities that had all been busts.  _ This  _ was  _ it _ .

He’d  _ needed  _ this to work. 

The man was right, the only other option  _ was  _ Bulma Briefs. The reason he couldn’t risk trying to get in contact with her was the fact that she’d been close friends with a certain someone named  _ Goku.  _ Dr. Gero had made sure to fill his and his sisters heads with everything they would need to know to kill Goku once they’d been released, so Seventeen knew that Bulma likely had maintained a relationship with Goku’s  _ son,  _ Gohan.

_ AKA, the  _ ** _asshole _ ** _ who blew off my arm! _

She’d definitely be in close contact, and even if he did  _ somehow  _ find her and  _ somehow  _ manage to prevent her from using a phone, he bet she had a plan B just like Dr. Challenger did. Hell, he was willing to bet she had a secret button in her shoe that she could use to ping Mr.  _ fuck-head-Blondie _ her exact location, or something ridiculous like that. 

He was stuck.

There was nothing left for him to look for. 

Seventeen felt warmth at the brims of his eyes as they shut, his head sinking low as black strands of hair floated in the crimson sea he’d made for himself.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
Hey guys! It’s been a little while hasn’t it? I’m sorry for the wait. I had to work on a few other projects before I got the chance to work on this story again, and boy was it a blast to revisit!   
Trully, this was a chapter I’ve been waiting to get to for a long time. Fun fact: the scene between Seventeen and Dr. Challenger has been planned since way back in the beginning when I was only just deciding to actually pick this story up (In fact, it was one of the driving factors that pushed me to pursue the story onward!) so I’m very happy that I finally got the chance to write it.   
Another fun fact! Dr. Challenger is actually a character within the dragon ball series! (Technically) He’s a character from a little GBA title ‘Buu’s Fury’, in fact, my editor/beta Ben Thryss caught the reference while reading! I’m actually genuinely curious if there are any other dragon ball fans out there who recognized the character. If you wouldn’t mind commenting, I’d love to know lol.  
Also, I will admit that this chapter was ever so slightly shorter than my standard length of chapter. This was mostly due to the fact that I felt that Seventeen’s closing situation was a perfect ending point for the shifting viewpoints of this chapter.   
Well that and if I posted what had been the previous chapter 13, then it would have been waaay too long.   
Lol, I said that I had a blast revisiting the story, right?  
Yes, that means that chapter 14 is already complete. I still have to go through and clean it up (With Ben’s help of course making my job much easier) but nonetheless that still takes time.   
I wish you all the best during these awkward times and hope you're doing well. Hopefully, my writing helped you starve off your boredom for a decent 15-20 minutes lol.
> 
> Until next time!


	14. Talking With a Monster Chapter 14: Honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Androids are gone. Humanity is seemingly safe for the time being. In reflection of this new found peace, what does this mean for those who've been leading this war for all this time?

- _ Eighteen- _

Eighteen’s head slowly fell back to rest on the sofa’s soft, plush back. She wasn’t wearing much, just a tank top and some underwear, but it wasn’t like there was anyone around to see her, so she didn’t care. She let her body relax against the cushions as she sat. She sighed, her gaze lazily looking up towards the lavish designs crawling up the oval shaped ceiling cupping a chandelier which flooded the room with a pleasant light. She found the patterns charming, before she blew a cloud of smoke in it’s direction. 

Her gaze slowly fell to examine the rest of what had served as her home for the past several weeks. The entrance, a set of thick wooden doors, opened up to this circular shaped space which she’d used as one great big lounge area. A corner of the room had been dedicated to one long couch which wrapped around it part way, cupping an excellently crafted coffee table which she’d promptly smothered in beer cans and cigerette buds. In fact, she noticed that there was trash scattered  _ everywhere  _ throughout the hotel room she’d paid for. 

She smirked. She’d walked in without any identification of any sort, but something she’d learned about people these days was that, if you pushed enough  _ cash  _ in front of them, pretty soon they stopped asking questions. 

And she  _ definitely  _ had enough cash to afford it.

Way back in the days following Dr. Gero’s death and their freedom, they’d purposefully robbed several banks for if ever they needed it. At first, they’d simply lived life lavishly, but soon they’d realized they didn’t need to do that at all. They found out that they didn’t need to  _ buy  _ anything, because they could simply  _ take  _ whatever they so desired. Of course, that hadn’t meant that she’d forgotten where they’d stashed it. There was no way she’d forget about the  _ millions  _ of Zeni buried way out in the desert.

It was odd to be back living like this, like before all of this happened. She supposed that it wasn’t an unpleasant change over all. The back had a sliding glass door which led out to a deck with a hot tub in it. The door to her right led to a bedroom with a full king sized bed complete with a four post bedframe. Her bathroom had a tub so big she could practically swim in it if she so desired. Her kitchen space was large enough to put certain restaurants to shame.

She smirked.

_ Yes, I am truly  _ ** _suffering _ ** _ during these dire times. _

She snickered at herself, rolling her eyes as she brought the cigarette back to her lips. 

She let the smoke out a moment later, watching it as it spread out across the room. She knew that most people thought smoking indoors was wrong, but it wasn’t like she’d be inviting anyone over anytime soon, so she figured it didn’t matter one way or another. 

_ Besides, why the fuck would I care what anyone else thinks? _

She scowled.

Her attention was only barely held by the bland drama playing on the massive flatscreen suspended from the wall across from her. She knew it had something to do with time travel and getting some heart medicine to someone important…? She couldn’t be sure.

Her other hand had a small sphere of golden yellow energy floating within it, no bigger than a marble in size. The orb danced within her fingers, weaving through them with ease before swirling around her wrist and up her forearm.

She grinned confidently as she continued to concentrate. She’d been practicing pretty regularly over the past several weeks considering just how  _ bored  _ she’d been over that time. 

She had all the money she would need for the next decade at  _ least _ , so it wasn’t like she had a job she had to get to any time soon. She didn’t need to eat or drink if she didn’t feel like it, and  _ no  _ desire to go outside and intermingle with the simpletons that populated West City.

_ At least, most of the time.  _

She had eventually decided to track down another spiking energy signature following the event with Joe. She’d arrived at an apartment complex before peeking in through a window to confirm her suspicions of domestic violence.

Judging by the sweaty,  _ naked  _ set of people sucking on each other’s faces, Eighteen had deduced that they in fact were  _ not  _ in a domestic dispute. 

_ Guess there’s more than one reason a person’s energy signature can spike. _

She made a silent agreement with herself to practice with her Ki sensing and see if there wasn’t a way to tell the difference between two conflicting types of energy spikes. 

The ball of energy whipped around her neck at high speeds as it continued to zoom all around her relaxed form. 

_ Hmm, I wonder if Gohan knows how to tell the difference. _

From her understanding, the technique was one that he’d known for  _ years  _ now, odds were that he’d have more insight on the matter if she asked. 

She began to toy with the idea of perhaps picking his mind some time…

_ NO! _

She immediately scowled as she realized what she was doing.

_ Stop rationalizing talking with Gohan! _

She’d caught herself doing that a few times over the last few weeks. She couldn’t fathom the reason  _ why  _ her thoughts continued to drift back to the one armed fighter. She supposed it was simply due to her being so recently introduced to the fact that Ki could do more than lift her up and blow up buildings. A part of her  _ really  _ wanted to understand everything else she didn’t know about Ki, and he was simply the person to go to in order to do that. 

Another part of her… admitted that Gohan also happened to be a pleasant person to be around. He was strong, he  _ understood  _ what it meant to have true power and that was something Eighteen could respect, even if begrudgingly. It made his words hold value in her mind, more so than any of the weaker, lesser people that surrounded him.

To her, he was the one other person in the world who she could listen to and  _ not  _ have the sneering, underlying thought of ‘Yeah, but that’s just coming from a nobody that doesn’t matter’. Because he did matter, he mattered in a big way, considering his strength was even greater than her  _ own _ , or so it seemed. 

“...Tsk,”

She let her eyes slowly drift across the room until they focused on the glass doors leading out onto the patio and to the twinkling night sky. She stared at them, wondering if there were any planets out there with people like her, looking out and questioning if their planet had anything interesting on it. She frowned. She _did _remember that time that two space crafts had descended from the sky. It had been on the news, she was pretty sure. What did that mean for-  
“...!!!” 

Eighteen’s body suddenly lurched forward, her eyes wide with panic as her mouth fell open in a stunned stupor. 

Her senses were being  _ flooded  _ with power. She could sense Gohan’s energy, and it was  _ skyrocketing _ !

Her blue eyes darted in the direction she could feel the power surging. It couldn’t be a training session, Trunks was nowhere near the explosion of energy, and she could definitely tell that Gohan was  _ maxing  _ out his power output.

_ Seventeen! _

Gohan had found him. She didn’t know  _ how  _ exactly he’d managed to track down her brother, since, as far as she was aware, there hadn’t been any  _ deaths  _ recently, but he had. It was the only reason that made any sense to her. Why  _ else  _ would his energy be throttling like that?! 

A moment later, the woman was to her feet. She told Seventeen that she wouldn’t be around to help him if he was discovered again; that he would be on his own if he attracted Gohan’s attention for a second time.

But that didn’t mean she was going to leave her own brother to  _ die _ .

She growled, her hands tightening into fists before she shouted, “Damn it, Seventeen!”  
She was blurring through the room a moment later, grabbing and putting on the clothing lying discarded on the ground closest to her, a set of black shorts and a T-shirt that was too big on her, before rushing towards the patio door. She paused for only a moment to steal a look towards the small backpack she always kept her disguise in.   
She couldn’t picture needing it. Why would she? If Gohan was truly fighting Seventeen right now, showing up as _Videl _certainly wasn’t going to help the situation.

_ ...might help me escape afterwards, though… _

She could change into it the moment after she disengaged before disappearing into the city as a normal girl.

She snatched the bag up before shooting off into the sky. 

* * *

- _ Gohan- _

He roared as he felt his energy explode out in all directions, his golden aura violently thrashing at the air around him as he did so. He felt his body trembling from the effort, humming with so much strength that _ begged  _ to be unleashed

And that was exactly what he planned to do.

“ **KA-** ” His face twisted into a snarl.

“ **ME-** ” His entire body began to tremble from the strain, his form low as his hand pulled back, filling with vibrant blue energy.

“ **HA-** ” It was beginning to grow to an amount that was too much for his one hand to handle. 

He grimaced.

“**ME-**” His hand was on _fire_!  
He shut his eyes tight just before his arm shot forward-  
“**HA!**” He felt the Earth rumble beneath him as the beam erupted from his hand with all the grace of a roaring waterfall.

He grit his teeth as he felt the weight of the attack threaten to push him back, his face and gi cast in its blue light as he felt his grip on the ground wane. 

He growled as he raised a single foot before stomping it into the ground, driving the heel of his boot into the dirt before he pushed his reserves harder, feeling his arm strain as he refused to let the beam diminish. 

His face began to reveal the same strain his arm was going through as he continued to supply the beam with energy. 

It was starting to go numb. 

Finally, when Gohan was certain he was on the brink of  _ breaking  _ something, he ended the attack. He let out a sharp gasp of pain before falling to one knee, arm trembling from the effort. 

He felt a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead, his chest rising and falling in rhythm to his desperate breaths of air. 

He stared forward, glaring at the spot he’d just unleashed his father’s signature attack. 

... _ The stars look nice tonight. _

It wasn’t very often Gohan felt the need to push his powers to their absolute limits. He typically got enough of that from fighting the Androids on such a regular basis. The only other time he came to the desert to train himself back to exhaustion was when he felt…  _ annoyed _ .

Gohan growled, not enjoying the fact that it was the truth. The problem was, it bothered him  _ more  _ that it had troubled him at all in the first place!

He shook his head, placing his still slightly numb hand against his brow. 

_ I should be happy, right? This is everything I ever wanted,  _ ** _right_ ** _ ? _

He knew it was the truth, assuming that…  _ they  _ really were gone. 

He closed his eyes, pulsing out his Ki so that he could sense the entire planet at once. 

_ Still nothing _ .

He’d been keeping up to date on sightings as well, regularly tuning into the news so often that he’d  _ actually  _ decided to buy a television so that he could watch from home. He knew that the woman loved him like a son, but it always felt weird to go over to Bulma’s just to watch  _ TV _ .

He growled, checking the Earth one last time before letting out a defeated sigh. Even if the Androids weren’t killing at every second of every day, they typically were still around doing  _ something  _ malicious. Before, there’d be reports from news crews talking about a store they robbed or a car they rode around in before driving into a bridge and leaving for local authorities to clean up. There was even the one time they opened the cages of an entire zoo to watch all the people run out screaming for their amusement. Usually, these occurrences would be too quick and random for Gohan to respond to, especially due to the fact that he couldn’t track their Ki. Regardless, there’d always be  _ something  _ he’d hear on the news about some new way the Androids had managed to ruin something about their society. 

The only problem was, this time, there was  _ nothing _ . Not a trace, not a single hint of either of them doing  _ anything.  _ From what Gohan could tell, they’d both gone completely off the radar. 

They were  _ gone _ .

It was already to the point that he’d actually heard speculation from specific journalists that the Androids may have been scared off for good this time.

The demi-Saiyan felt his fingers curling into fists at the mere notion. 

The Androids, the duo responsible for taking the lives of literally  _ millions  _ of people, just disappearing without a trace.

Just like that.

_ Gone _ .

Gohan felt his teeth grit together, feeling his anger  _ boiling  _ over.

He knew that if that fact were true, then the world  _ should  _ be rejoicing, that  _ he  _ should be happy over that fact. No one would ever have to die to their whims again. The world would start to rebuild and finally be able to grow again, like it had decades ago.

He’d finally get his  _ life  _ back. 

So then… why did he feel so  _ cheated _ ?

He’d sacrificed his entire adolescence, his entire childhood, training and challenging them. He’d spent so many years being brutalized and thrashed around, lost an entire  _ limb  _ to this seemingly  _ never ending _ war. 

For it to all end… just like  _ that _ ?

A single fight where he  _ finally  _ did some damage and scared the two of them off.

Was that  _ really  _ the end of his hardship?

He paused, staring down at the dirt at his feet. 

He felt… like it couldn’t—like it  _ shouldn’t _ . He knew that was selfish of him to actually  _ want  _ the Androids to appear again. He knew that would mean that dozens, potentially hundreds of people would have to die in the initial attack as they always did,  _ just  _ for him to get his rematch against them.

There was a sense of guilt that plagued the demi-Saiyan’s mind as he considered that fact. Did he  _ actually  _ want people to  _ die _ ?

He closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly.  
_No, I only want to destroy the Androids. I’m not a monster like them._

He let his eyes open again, forcing the self taught message to sink into his mind. He knew that reminding himself of that fact was important, especially now.

He’d wholly expected it, but that hadn’t made the sting any less disheartening.

He knew they didn’t  _ mean  _ to say it. He knew that the meaning was all in his head… probably. Unfortunately, that didn’t make the message any less real for the young man.

He could picture Bulma now, a smile on her face as she approached him.

_ “Man, you know how satisfying it is to  _ ** _finally _ ** _ see Android Seventeen get knocked around? ” _

He could hear Roshi now, his voice full of cheer and celebration as he recited a statement he’d announced at the party.

_ “At  _ ** _long last_ ** _ ! We get to see one of the mecha-brats get what's coming to them!” _

His mind turned to his mother, recalling a simple message she’d sent him a few weeks after the event.

_ “Please don’t forget our conversation. Now that the Androids are  _ ** _finally _ ** _ starting to go away, start to consider what’s best for you in life.” _

They were congratulating him, commending him on a job well done.

Gohan  _ knew  _ that was what he should be taking away from their words, knew that was what they really meant by their words.

They were  _ proud  _ of him. He knew that fact.

_ ...Right? _

He paused, turning his attention away from the dirt to stare out at the vast ocean of stars littering the plain of night. A part of him could still vaguely recall the time he’d spent out in space with Krillin and Bulma. A few pieces were fuzzy now, but he’d only been five at the time, so he figured that was normal for someone his age. It felt like so long ago; his time on Namek, his time out in space... his time with his father and his friends, before they were abruptly taken away—this time permanently.  
_...Finally…_

The word carried with it a concealed message, one that he presumed none of his friends realized was there. He supposed that was because it wasn’t there. At least, not to them.

“I’m… I’m sorry it took me this long, dad.”

He stared up at the sky, picturing his father somehow looking down and watching him in that moment. He knew that it was impossible for dad to hear him now, but it comforted him to believe that he could.

His mind began to drift within itself, his awareness of the desert around him growing farther and farther away as he did.

He pictured his father, or at least what he remembered his father looking like, standing before him.

At first he pictured Goku taller than himself, before realizing that they would actually be standing at the same height if they’d both been alive today.

He pictured the man’s wild black hair exploding out in all different directions, his easy going smile resting on his lips as he stared back at his son.

Gohan could imagine his father acting jovial, laughing and patting him on the back at seeing his son as a Super Saiyan just like him!

The young demi-Saiyan felt a sad smile pull at his lips. 

_ Yeah, that’s exactly how dad would act. _

He could picture his father getting excited, asking for a sparring match as he turned Super Saiyan as well.

Gohan’s brow furrowed as he tried to remember what his father looked like as a Super Saiyan. He didn’t have many pictures of the man in the form, mostly due to his mom disliking its aesthetic and refusing to pose for pictures while he transformed. 

He did his best to recreate the look in his mind.   
Now, he was standing before the _first _Super Saiyan, the legendary form of the race he’d never know more than what he’d overheard Vegeta say in passing.

_ The  _ ** _real _ ** _ Super Saiyan. _

He recalled Vegeta mentioning that the transformation was one that hadn’t occurred in  _ thousands  _ of years. He remembered as a boy being so entranced with his father’s new form. He thought back to when he was that five-year-old boy, feeling so much pride knowing that the  _ legendary Super Saiyan  _ was  _ his  _ old man!

That feeling had felt somewhat cheapened when he’d discovered Vegeta had achieved the state later. Even more so when he  _ himself  _ had managed to transform in his first confrontation with the Androids all those years ago.

Nowadays, the transformation hardly felt special to him anymore. Or at least, not for him  _ specifically _ . He still marveled at the memory of seeing his father confronting Frieza for the very first time on Namek. 

That was one memory he doubted he’d  _ ever  _ forget.

He threw out a punch at the illusion, one that he pictured his father easily slipping past, playfulling calling out, “ _ C’mon, Gohan! I wanna see what my son can  _ ** _really _ ** _ do!” _

Gohan pulled his head back, mock-dodging a few punches he could picture his dad throwing out to test the waters and see how he responded. 

Gohan grinned, genuinely enjoying himself as he retaliated with a kick that attempted to clip his father’s chin just before the Super Saiyan reared his head back, avoiding it. 

The demi-Saiyan knew that his attacks would never land even as he threw out two more strikes meant to catch his dad in the sides. His dad was too strong! Too skilled to ever be struck by an attack  _ he  _ performed.

Goku stepped around the attacks, spinning as he threw out a kick that Gohan remembered him using against Vegeta once.

The half Saiyan lowered his stance, slipping below as he rushed in in an attempt to catch his dad overextending.

Of course, he’d been mistaken in assuming his father would ever be caught unaware. 

He threw out a flurry of blows, all of which Goku nimbly dodged or parried as his wide grin held unwavering on his lips.

_ “Wow, Gohan! You’ve really gotten strong!”  _ He imagined his father complimenting.

The demi-Saiyan suddenly froze, his fist extended as he stared at the empty space he’d been fighting.

_ ...Finally _ .

He was  _ finally  _ strong enough.  _ Finally  _ strong enough to make a difference and  _ finally  _ win a fight for once. Because unlike the man before him, the previous Super Saiyan who’d saved the Earth and their lives when they’d been threatened,  _ he’d  _ not won his fight in one or two confrontations.

No, it had taken him much,  _ much  _ longer than that.

When his father had been faced with Raditz, Nappa, and even  _ Vegeta _ , he’d stopped them in his  _ first  _ fight. When he’d finally arrived to challenge  _ Frieza _ , not even knowing the Super Saiyan transformation yet, he’d still managed to defeat him in his attempt.

Gohan stared back at the man before him—the man that _he_ was supposed to be for this world now that Son Goku was gone. 

He felt so much smaller than him, so much  _ weaker, _ despite knowing that if he were to compare himself to the man today, his Ki would likely exceed his father’s strength before he died. 

He supposed the reason for this was simple.

Goku had succeeded in protecting the people he loved. He’d succeeded in protecting the Earth from those who’d threatened it.

Where Gohan felt… he’d mostly failed at protecting the people of this world. He’d merely delayed the Androids for all this time, slowing them down as they’d continued to end hundreds of thousands of lives through the years.

The fact that they’d  _ finally  _ been beaten back  _ now _ , after so many people had been lost, was solely bitter sweet. No more than a hollow victory, made worse by the fact that he hadn’t actually  _ destroyed  _ them yet. It felt empty, and it felt  _ meaningless _ . 

His image of Goku began to fade, twisting and warping until it was no longer his father standing before him.

Instead, he was confronted by a very familiar  _ smirk _ .

“ _ Sup, Blondie? How’s it feel to know me  _ ** _and _ ** _ my sister both got away, huh? Must really  _ ** _suck _ ** _ knowing that you’re never going to get the chance to beat us ever again. Y’know, since you’ll never be able to find us-” _

Gohan blew away the image of Seventeen with an explosive discharge of blue energy that washed over the Android’s entire figure. 

His scowl slowly eased into a silent determination as he began to fight the empty air once more. This time he decided to focus on his form and technique rather than envision an opponent for himself to challenge.

_ Just focus, Gohan. You need to make sure that you’re ready for when one of them shows up again. _

His fist and legs made sharp hissing noises as they split the air in violent, coordinated blurs.

He  _ needed  _ to believe that they would appear again, that their demented ways would eventually lead to his discovery of their whereabouts. He  _ needed  _ to feel the drive to defeat them still, because if he didn’t get that chance, if  _ this  _ was truly the end of the fight he’d been living for all his life…

Gohan frowned, his head jerking to the side as his heightened senses caught movement out of the corner of his eye. His teal eyes narrowed as he listened to the sound of rock and dirt tumbling down the side of a cliffside overlooking his training grounds only a short flight away. He tried to scan the lip of the cliff, searching for whatever had caused the disturbance.

He caught a very  _ faint  _ movement, a form slinking away from the lip, but the night made it impossible to make out who or what it could be.

Immediately, Gohan’s senses stretched out, searching for whatever creature might be prowling around this time of night.

He blinked.

He could sense  _ nothing _ .

Gohan’s face adopted a look of confusion as he tried to make sense of it. Usually, the snakes and wildlife of the area were easy to track. It wasn’t like they knew how to hide their energy, like Krillin had shown him all those years before. 

Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

_ No… I definitely didn’t imagine the rock or dirt falling… so, what was- _

His eyes snapped open wide with realization. 

He couldn’t sense whoever it was, and he’d  _ definitely  _ seen some movement up there. Had they tracked him down for whatever reason? How?! Why?!

He felt himself growing excited at the idea, regardless of the reason. A part of him knew that what he was thinking was nearly impossible, but that didn’t stop his hopes from skyrocketing. His aura surged all around him, flaring out in one explosive burst before he shot towards where he’d seen the movement moments ago. 

His face twisted into a snarl, preparing himself for the fight ahead if he was correct in his assumptions. 

_ I’ll make you proud, dad. _

* * *

_ -Eighteen, Fifteen Minutes Earlier- _

** _Shit, shit, shit, shit!_ **

It felt like that day all over again. It felt like she was about to watch her brother be torn  _ limb  _ from  _ limb _ . 

_ Please, stay alive! _

The woman had been confused when her senses led her past the city and into the desert. She’d assumed that Seventeen had been acting careless again within West City, and that had prompted the engagement.

Her brow furrowed as she flew over the miles of sand and dusty stone leading towards the training grounds Gohan had shown to her. Had Seventeen sought  _ Gohan  _ out? Why?! How?!

She growled as she clenched her fists. Didn’t matter now one way or another.

It hadn’t been hard to spot Gohan once she’d arrived, his golden aura flaring powerfully as his limbs shot out through the darkness attacking… no one?

_ What? _

Eighteen frowned as she continued to stare down at the man. She noticed that he’d taken his shirt off for whatever reason. She supposed it was due to the surplus of sweat buildup as he continued to strike out against his invisible opponent with determined vigor.

_ He’s just… training? _

The tension in the woman’s shoulders slowly eased as the panic she’d had earlier washed away with relief.

She’d been wrong. Seventeen was alright, and Gohan was not killing him.

She felt odd for having to  _ actually  _ consider that as a very real part of her life now. 

_ Huh. _

She was floating hundreds of feet in the air, the night sky disguising her figure as she lingered, staring down at the small form of golden light violently thrashing at nothing. Dr. Gero’s advancements had given her and her brother an enhanced sense of sight that made the night little more than a slight annoyance, but in conjunction with the distance she could only barely make out Gohan’s vague shape from so far up. 

She frowned. Why was she acting as if she  _ had  _ to be watching him right now? She knew that the only reason she’d come was because she’d believed her brother had been in the process of being ragdolled into the dirt repeatedly.

Eighteen’s head slowly turned to look back towards West City—only a few miles away. She could still see the lights twinkling in the distance, creating the vague shape of a city.

_ I should go back… shouldn’t I?  _

It was the sensible thing to do. Being here would only risk being spotted, and it wasn’t like she had any buildings to hide behind to get away this time.

Her gaze slowly shifted back towards Gohan. It was interesting to her, watching him as he performed under the assumption that he was entirely alone. She enjoyed being able to sense his energy like this, from so close, feeling it wash over her like a tsunami. 

Just like before, it was absolutely  _ incredible _ . A spectacle that she could only marvel at after having to stay away for so long. She wished she could replicate it, force her own power to surge out like his own in a vibrant, impressive display of life. She could picture it being fairly substantial in comparison as well, although she had her doubts as to whether or not it would be as beautiful as Gohan’s was.

She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but there was something  _ more  _ that Ki seemed to indicate about a person other than general excitement and power level. She’d initially interpreted it as the person’s signature, and while that was true, now that she’d explored a little more with the skill, she knew that wasn’t  _ all  _ of it.

It was as if she could detect the very essence of  _ good  _ within Gohan’s golden aura. As if the concept of morality was a soup and she could taste Gohan’s honest good nature heavily impacting its flavor.

She felt conflicted about the fact that she found the sensation marvelous.

Of course, that was only a theory of hers based entirely on speculation. Unfortunately, mankind’s power levels were far too weak to compare to, and the only people she knew who could test the  _ other  _ side of the spectrum was herself and her brother. She imagined that if their Ki could be translated and sensed, it would come out evil and malicious, reflecting everything that Gohan’s  _ wasn’t _ .

She grimaced, partially glad that she couldn’t sense anything from herself. Perhaps it was better that way.

“...”

She still hadn’t decided whether or not she should leave.

Her eyes squinted, frustrated that she couldn’t clearly make out Gohan’s figure. Eventually, her eyes landed on a small plateau that overlooked the stretch of land Gohan was training within. It was far closer than her position hundreds of feet up in the sky, and she was willing to bet it was far  _ warmer  _ as well.

Her blue eyes narrowed on the spot. She could easily picture herself down there, using it for cover. She imagined she could watch Gohan for some time if she really wanted to, as long as she remained quiet through it all.

She frowned. She knew that it was foolish, that doing so would net her no gain and only serve to put her at risk. It was outright idiotic to even  _ consider  _ lingering even a moment longer than she had to.

_ …Oh, to hell with it all. _

Slowly, Eighteen began to descend towards the plateau.

She waited until she was certain Gohan’s back was turned before she darted into position, lying flat on her stomach as she peered over the edge of the long cliffside. 

She could see him far better now that he was less than a hundred feet away, his body gleaming from the combination of his golden aura and sweat. 

She watched as he shot forward, driving a knee into his invisible opponent before twisting, snapping out with his heel as it slashed the air horizontally. Finally, she watched as he lept back, firing a barrage of Ki blasts that erupted in massive dirt clouds as they made impact with the ground. 

_ This is so… weird _ .

She supposed that was a bit of an understatement if she was being honest with herself. 

She was quite literally spying on the man who'd crippled her brother, threatened her with death, and just made a downright nuisance of himself for over ten years! How could he be so inexplicably fascinating?!

She felt the innate desire to watch him, to understand him and know more about the things that he knew.

...A part of her even wanted to be down there practicing with him, donning the ‘Videl’ disguise and re-initiating… whatever the hell their relationship had been before their last fight.

_ I do have the disguise on me… _

Eighteen began to mull over while she continued to silently study the man as he moved. 

She noticed just how chiseled his upper body appeared now that his shirt was off. She supposed she’d never taken the time to actually  _ look  _ at the man before this point. She tried to remember all the other times his shirt had been torn away in a fight with her and her brother. It had to have happened dozens of times, considering all the times they’d beaten him to a pulp, and yet she’d never even  _ noticed  _ just how ridiculously well  _ built  _ the man was.

She watched the way his bicep and forearm flexed as he shot out a series of jabs before completing the combination with a straight roundhouse kick to his spectral opponent’s sternum. Her eyes lingered on his upper chest and shoulders, the muscles bulging as they strained themselves to complete the lightning fast movements Gohan was performing. 

_ Hmm _ , so different from Seventeen...

She’d never thought of that.

She’d seen her brother shirtless more times than she’d care to count and she’d never found it strange that his body, while by no means  _ weak  _ looking, was almost entirely unchanged from when they’d been people before. He looked like how a normal person  _ should  _ look, physically speaking, despite being able to level literal mountains with a single hand if he’d wanted too. Her body was much the same, slim and attractive, but by no means muscular in any sense of the word.

Watching a body  _ unenhanced  _ by Dr. Gero’s work, a body who’d earned the same strength she had seemingly through hard work and determination was…  _ intriguing _ .

Her gaze began to slowly soften, her eyelids falling halfway as her eyes sought a further exploration.

Eighteen began to slowly inspect his back, the way his shoulder blades tightened to create a ripple of muscles that ran paralleled on either side of his spine. A part of her wished he still had his other arm just so that she could see how well it matched the other. Instead she was met with an uncomfortable looking stump that hung uselessly at his side.

_ Hmmm… _

She slowly shifted, resting her cheek in her hand as she continued to stare with hooded eyes.

The man turned, snapping out a kick that would have launched his opponent into the sky had it landed. The movement caused the woman to turn her attention towards his chest and midsection where she found his abs had received the exact same treatment as the rest of his ripped body. 

Eighteen’s eyes started slowly wandered lower, her stare curiously tracing out the lines that formed the man’s hips before disappearing down his-

_ WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING?! _

Eighteen’s eyes snapped open wide before she jerked up, pushed herself away from the cliffside as she abruptly ended the…  _ strange  _ thoughts she’d begun to explore.

_ Nope. _

She told herself, shaking her head. 

_ Nope, nope, nope! _

She repeated before realizing something that made her blood run cold.

Gohan had stopped training, and he was looking straight towards her.

_ Fuck! _

Had she made a noise when she’d jerked up? She cursed under her breath for not paying attention. Panic began to set into the woman as she attempted to flatten herself to the ground, moving back slowly as she prayed Gohan would assume it was just his imagination-

She felt his power flare a moment later, his energy signature coming straight towards her.

** _Fuck_ ** _ ! _

There was no time to do anything! Should she run? No, there was nowhere to run  _ to _ . It was desert for _ miles  _ of space, which Gohan would definitely use to blast her out of the sky. Hide? She frowned, looking at all the flat empty space all around her.

_ My disguise? _

Her mind flashed to the bag still on her back.

The woman scrambled, hastily tearing the pack open before affixing the set of glasses to her face and wig to her head.

A moment later, she could see the golden glow of Gohan’s aura on her forearm, her back turned to the man as she rose from her squatting position on the ground

She swallowed hard.

“...Videl?”

_ Oh, thank God. _

She turned slowly, doing her best to hide the wave of nervousness plaguing her system.

“Hey, Gohan,” she responded awkwardly as she turned towards him. 

She could tell by the sideways tilt of his head that he was utterly baffled by her presence.

“Wha-?” He began slowly, his teal colored eyes narrowed on her as he studied her. Internally, Eighteen was screaming with panic as she tried to envision a way out of this absolute mess.

_Why do I do this to myself so often!? Do I _**_want _**_to be destroyed!?__  
_ She speculated to herself in annoyed self-loathing. 

Finally, he shook himself from his stupor and asked, “what are you doing here?” 

Eighteen’s mind went blank.

_ I have absolutely zero reasons to be out here at this time.  _

She froze, realizing that she had no lie to escape this.

“I—well, I came out because I… sensed your energy…” She responded dumbly.

He blinked, clearly clicking the answer together before a flash of understanding seemed to wash over his face, “Ohhh!”

Eighteen frowned, what had he just put together?

“You thought I was fighting Seventeen and Eighteen.”

She paused.

_ That’s not… entirely untrue. _

Had he actually been fighting with Seventeen, he  _ would  _ have then been fighting the both of them as she attempted to save her brother. 

“Uh, yeah, actually.” It was her turn to tilt her head to the side. How did he…? “But how did you know that?”

He shot her a curious smile. “Because I figured you were coming to help with your energy…?” 

_ OH! _

Her eyes flashed wide. She hadn’t even thought of that!

_ Perfect! _

“Y-yeah!” She responded immediately. “I felt your energy boom and figured… that I helped out last time…” She rubbed her arm, averting her gaze.

_ This feels so slimy _ .

She had  _ not  _ helped, or at least, she certainly hadn’t helped  _ him. _

She frowned, did she actually feel… guilty?

_What fuck do I have to feel guilty about? I was saving my brother! Fuck you, brain!__  
_ Wasn’t her brain supposed to be on her side? 

Annoyed, she decided to focus on the conversation.

Gohan’s demeanor shifted, his hand reaching over to scratch the back of his head in this weird tick she’d noticed he so often did. 

“Heh, well, I definitely appreciate the willingness to help. Sorry if I scared you. Sometimes I go to train by myself since Trunks isn’t  _ quite  _ at my level yet. I told Trunks ahead of time so he’d know. I completely forgot that there was someone else able to sense Ki, now.” he flashed an embarrassed smile. “My bad.”

“Uh, it’s no big deal.” Why was he lying? “I’m just glad that you’re not fighting the Androids.” He didn’t like to train  _ alone _ .

As much as she hated to admit it… she’d regularly sought out Gohan’s energy throughout the month she’d been away. She’d regularly felt Trunks and Gohan together, their energies flared as they engaged one and other. 

She’d  _ never  _ felt Gohan by himself.

_ Once in a month? _

Seemed like a strange training regime if it was the truth, although she’d supposed it wasn’t  _ entirely  _ impossible. 

“Heh, yeah.” She noticed his smile waver. “Me too.”

There was an uncomfortable pause before Gohan’s eyes drifted away, appearing equally uncomfortable with the situation. She frowned. Why did he look like he was…?

“Uh… so, what have you been up to for the last month? I tried to get in touch a few times…” He trailed off, looking away.

_ Fuck! _

She mentally slapped herself in the forehead. She’d just got done  _ ghosting  _ him for the past month! Of course he was feeling awkward!

_ Or, more than likely,  _ ** _pissed off _ ** _ at me. _

She certainly would be. If someone came to her, asked to learn to fly and entirely ignored her immediately after, her old self would likely track them down and murder them out of of principle. 

She doubted Gohan would do the same. 

“I…” She tried to come up for a good reason for ignoring him. The last time she’d gone with the truth and it had saved her, but this time she figured ‘you almost killed my brother!’ wasn’t going to work out. 

“I had some… family stuff happen.” She answered with an apologetic frown. She knew that was a  _ terrible  _ answer and likely sounded like bullshit to the man. 

Gohan’s brows knit together, his lips shifting into an apologetic frown “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope everyone is okay.”

His voice sounded so sincere that it stunned the Android for a moment. It  _ genuinely  _ sounded like he cared.

“Were any of your family injured in the last attack? I know you said you live in West City.”

_ Oh. _

She realized that family in the hospital was likely a common issue for people considering how  _ often  _ she and her brother attacked. 

_ Funny how I never thought of that until now… huh.  _

“Well, actually…” She paused, considering the event. “...one of them was hurt.” It felt weird to be able to tell the truth to him.

She watched as the man let out a short, frustrated breath, his lips frowning as he appeared  _ guilty  _ to her.

“I’m sorry that happened. I tried to get there as soon as I could. I hope that they weren’t a part of those who died in the initial attack.”

She could see true remorse there, his gaze solemn as he studied the ground. 

“H-hey.” She reached out, tapping his hand with a few fingers. She tried to flash him a reassuring smile. “He’s still alive, he just got a broken arm is all.” 

Gohan looked back up at her, his teal eyes like pools of liquid emerald as she stared into them. His lips spread wide in a smile that made her eyes descend to watch them in as if like a magnetic pull.She was also  _ acutely  _ aware of the fact that he was still  _ very  _ topless. 

She decided moments later that a rock off to the left was likely a better focus point for the remainder of this conversation.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that, at least.”

“Yeah, of course…” She felt a weird squirming sensation of guilt wiggling its way to the surface. “I’m... sorry for not responding to your texts.”

“Oh, right, that.” He looked away dismissively. “No big deal. I totally get it. You just wanted to learn how to fly.” He shrugged. “I didn’t take any offense.”

His gaze shifted back towards the cliffside. “Well, it was nice catching up. I’m glad to hear your family is safe and see that you’re doing well. I’m going to get back to training—oh!” He paused, turning back to her for a moment. “If you feel my Ki rise like that again, please don’t come out here. If there had been a fight, I don’t know if I could protect you and fight both of them at the same time.”

_ Wait, he’s ending the conversation? _

“Oh, alright. Sorry. It was nice seeing you.” She smiled.

He gave her a polite nod before walking a few feet. She realized a moment later it was to avoid blasting her with dust the moment he took off into the sky.

She watched his golden glow as he flew back to where he’d been before.

She felt… wrong. She felt that the interaction had been wrong. That  _ something  _ in that conversation had gone amiss.

But she couldn’t decipher what.

Warding off Gohan had been the plan, hadn’t it? She’d put on the disguise hoping that Gohan would leave her alone and she would be able to avoid a conflict. She even got the added bonus of him being extremely polite and forgiving her for her ghosting him.

He’d even closed the door on their relationship, saying that he understood, and he didn’t mind if she’d only wanted to know how to fly.

Her eyes turned out towards the night sky. She was  _ free _ from any connection to the man if she wanted. 

Free to do… whatever, she wanted. She could check up sometimes if he trained like this again, but other than that, she was  _ free _ .

_ Free to do… whatever I want. _

She’d succeeded in all the goals she’d told herself she’d been aiming for. 

_ So why do I feel like I just  _ ** _lost_ ** _ ? _

She recalled the moment a month ago, when she’d been mystified by the ability to sense the very essence of life that all people had. 

Eighteen scoffed. She remembered having the immediate urge to hug the man for it.

“...”

A part of her, she realized, didn’t want to leave quite yet. She was even willing to admit that she might want to… talk with Gohan-

_ He nearly killed both you  _ ** _and _ ** _ your brother! Get a hold of yourself! _

She paused, her pale blue eyes glazed over as if confronting the words themselves in her mind. 

_ He nearly killed my brother, and he nearly killed me. _

That had been her crux for the past several weeks, the ‘new’ logic upon which she’d based her decisions. 

Gohan had threatened her loved one. He’d  _ hurt  _ her brother.

Her eyes slowly fell shut as her hands closed into fists. She could feel herself trembling with rage as she continued to confront the logic.

As she continued to confront the  ** _hypocrisy _ ** of it all.

_ ... _ ** _I _ ** _ think that I should be upset that Gohan hurt my brother? _

She snarled, her expression hardened with a feeling of self-loathing that hit her like a tidal wave.

** _WELL, HOW MANY PEOPLE OF HIS HAVE WE SLAUGHTERED?!_ **

She wanted to be upset about her brother losing an  _ arm _ ?

Compared to everything they’d done to the man, what Seventeen had received seemed  _ minor _ . At least  _ he  _ got to live, didn’t he?

_ I wonder how many of Gohan’s friends or family can’t say the same. _

Her mind reeled as she tried to remember all the times she and her brother had terrorized the poor boy growing up. She could recall the boy coming to challenge them as early as the age of six or seven, the first time they’d fight what would slowly grow into a  _ war _ .

He hadn’t been golden at first, she could remember that much.

It was only after the rest of the team had been slaughtered that he’d finally erupted like a tree struck with lightning. She remembered  _ actually  _ being scared in those initial moments. She’d just finished dispatching of the green one when Gohan exploded with rage, managing to legitimately catch her off guard and drive her back for a time. 

Seventeen had eventually needed to step in to get him off of her, before, together, they’d battered him to the ground. They’d stood there, leering over the boy, questioning if they should slaughter him too. That had been towards the beginning of all this, back before they’d decided that humans were too weak to be  _ valued _ .

They’d spared him, neither ready to take a small child’s life. 

_ How long ago that was… _

She felt like it’d been a lifetime since she’d been that person. The young woman who still had morals, as grey as they’d been back then. She had lines back then—lines that she’d felt if crossed would leave her shattered as an individual.

Sure, before she’d been abducted by Dr. Gero, she hadn’t exactly been a  _ model citizen _ .

She’d robbed stores, gotten into bloody fights, stolen vehicles and generally gotten into all sorts of mischief. However, she’d never taken a life before, and had still had a moral code on who she would actually injure or steal from. 

Those lines were gone now. They had been for years. She’d crossed them. Each and every one of them. 

Some of them had even been  _ directly  _ involving Gohan.

She hadn’t realized it at the time, but  _ torturing an eleven year old boy _ had been one of her lines. She’d never thought she would do it, but after Blondie wouldn’t quit  _ bugging them _ , they’d figured a handful of broken limbs would be enough for the young man to get the picture. 

Of course, they’d later find out that they had been most definitely wrong.

Thinking about it, she began to consider how long it had been until _ all  _ of their morals had finally been washed away. How long had it taken for her brother and she to one by one cut away the ties to humanity they once held? The transformation had come on so…  _ naturally _ , so gradually that she hadn’t even noticed the change up until now.

She remembered hunting down a young boy a little more than a month back, just before that  _ damn… _ that…  _ talk _ .

_ What was his name? _

She paused in her thought, a part of her feeling it was important to recall it.

_ Hercule. Hercule Satan. _

She felt her lips pull slightly towards a smile. That was it. That was his name.

She returned to the memory, recalling eventually finding the boy hiding away in a storage closet in the back of a bookstore. She’d been agitated that the young boy had managed to evade her for so long, his instincts serving to spare him ten additional minutes before she’d found him. 

She recalled torturing the child before driving a single beam through his skull. It had meant  _ nothing  _ to her. 

_ And  _ ** _I _ ** _ think I get to be upset about my brother’s injury _ .

She wondered what her past self would have done if she’d  _ seen  _ what she would eventually become. What would the girl who only  _ just  _ stepped out of Dr. Gero’s lab think of the woman standing in her shoes today?

_ She would be  _ ** _horrified_ ** _ . _

She knew it to be the truth. If her past self was standing before her today, having seen the atrocities that she’d committed, all in the name of good fun, she would likely attack herself in an attempt to rid the world of this  **monster** .

She closed her eyes. 

It was the truth, wasn’t it?

She was a  **monster** .

Slowly, Eighteen’s eyes opened, her gaze locked on the ground at her feet. The woman’s head rose, turning until she was looking back towards where she could feel Gohan training.

She could still hear that little voice in her head, reminding her that the man over that crest was the one responsible for her brother’s pain. But it was much quieter now, barely a whisper of a thought anymore.

Another voice chimed that he was also the only person in the world strong enough to kill her, and he very much had the proper motivation to do so.

She paused, frowning. 

For some reason, that didn’t feel like such a big deal anymore.

* * *

- _ Gohan- _

The demi-Saiyan threw out a single fist that cut through his opponent, before shooting forward a second time, bending his arm so that his elbow embedded itself into his target as well.

_ That all you got, Blondie? _

He growled as he spun, whipping out his leg in a low sweep that he envisioned knocking the Seventeen to the ground. His prediction was that this attack would allow him a few seconds to twist, anticipating his second opponent. He pictured Eighteen coming from the rear as he pulled back his fist and—

—Froze, his eyes wide in shock as, at the very last moment, he stopped himself. 

There actually  _ was  _ someone standing there.

“Videl?”

His eyes were wide, confused. How had she crept up so close without him noticing? Also, _what _was she doing here? He’d figured out weeks ago that the woman wanted nothing to do with him, so why would she…?

She was standing there, appearing almost uncomfortable… or was that nervousness he was detecting?

“Uh… Hey, Gohan.” She flashed a smile, one arm raising to swing a single uncomfortable wave. It was clear to him that she did  _ not  _ want to be here right now.

_ So why is she? _

“Um, hey, Videl.” His brows knit together, “Is there something I can help you with?” 

“I-” She paused almost as if she hadn’t had an answer to that question. “I wanted to know… when the next teaching session was.”

He frowned. Teaching session? He’d been under the impression that she’d only wanted to know how to manipulate her energy enough to fly. She’d done that now, so what was she hoping to gain by asking for more lessons?

“Do you need more pointers on how to fly?” Did she think there was another step?

She gave him a curious look. “Uh, no, actually. I think I actually have flying down now.” She hovered in the air for a few moments to demonstrate. “See?” She smiled.

Gohan felt his lips naturally form a smile in response.

“Well, that’s certainly good to see-”

“And I’ve been practicing this!” She added abruptly. A moment later, a ball of energy the size of a golf ball formed in her palm before spiraling up her arm and around her torso. The energy zoomed with precision as it continued to dance across her body. He could see her brow set, her eyes reflecting her determination as she focused on the little sphere of Ki. 

Gohan’s brows arched. That actually  _ was  _ a surprise. “Wow, Videl! I have to admit, that actually is quite impressive.”

He watched her beam at the prase. He couldn’t help find it adorable as she let the energy disperse, a seemingly content smile on her lips.

It made him think of a child showing their teacher a drawing they were particularly proud of. 

“But… I’m still struggling to grasp what you meant by ‘teaching sessions’. It was my understanding that you just wanted to learn how to fly… right?”

He watched her smile crumple slightly, her brows drooping slightly. “I… well yes, that is true. I guess I just really enjoyed learning about Ki and was hoping to learn more.”

He shot her a sympathetic look. “I see. Well, I will admit that Ki is quite fascinating when you first start learning about it.” He let out a slow sigh, shaking his head. “The only issue is that I simply  _ can’t  _ keep teaching you. Ki and Ki control are innately tied to combat and martial arts. The vast majority of these techniques are  _ designed  _ for combat use, and unless you plan to become a full fledged martial artist, there’s very little more I can even show you.” He paused, adding, “I’m sorry.” Upon noticing the woman’s slightly defeated looking face.

Then, a grin split it.

“You think I don’t know how to fight?”

The words made his chest pound a little harder from excitement. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

“Do you?” He asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Care to find out?” She chided with a playful grin, raising her fists to her face as she lowered her stance. Gohan’s brows rose as he recognized a  _ legitimate  _ fighting style within her form, proper footing, good spacing as well as weight distribution. 

_ There’s definitely foundations there _ .

He mentally noted as he let his focus on his golden aura diminish. Closing his eyes, he let the strenuous state slip from his mind before he felt his hair ease back to its normal black.

“Alright then,” he said, grinning with anticipation, “let’s see what you can do.”

“Don’t underestimate me, now.” Her smile was unwavering, “I know you can quite literally destroy buildings, but I can zip around a little ball of energy, so…” she laughed at her own joke

Gohan laughed, too.

It felt good to laugh.

Finally, he watched as she pushed forward, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she approached. Gohan watched her legs as she moved, dancing through the sand until eventually she was upon him.

_ Good footwork. _

He noted as he easily slipped by a punch meant for his chin, then two more as the woman followed up with a flurry of short, swift jabs.

The style reminded him of an MMA fighter trying to poke at their opponent and get a read for them.

“You didn’t happen to take MMA as a kid did you?”

“How’d you guess?” She said as she unleashed a hook which he realized had been planned out in conjunction with the jabs, trying to position his head so that her hook would catch him.

Of course, she was  _ far  _ too slow to make that attack land.

He caught the fist an inch from his face, grinning as he did.

“Just noticing, is all.” A part of his training was learning  _ several  _ different styles of fighting. MMA had certainly been a part of his research.

He shoved back the hand. He’d seen her offense, now it was time to test her defense.

He pushed forward, making sure that he was telegraphing his punch so that she definitely knew it was coming. Much to his delight, she managed to sway to the side at just the right moment, avoiding the fist as it sailed over her shoulder.

_ Good. _

He threw out two more jabs, each faster than the last as he tried to decipher her skill level.

She slipped to the other side as the fist sailed over her other shoulder before pulling back, creating distance as the last strike struck air.

_ Very good _ .

He was impressed. She’d shown she clearly knew what she was doing in a  _ normal  _ fight.

She swung out a kick meant to take out his leg. He guarded the attack with his shin, before doing the same and noting how readily she managed to mirror his guard.

Gohan was genuinely enjoying himself as he parried yet another strike meant for his face. She was by no means close to Trunks in speed or strength, but that didn’t mean that sparring with a  _ new  _ partner wasn’t any less fun.

He was beginning to question if  _ this  _ was perhaps the reason the girl had taken to Ki control so fast. She already had amazing foundations for martial arts!

Considering this fact, the man threw out a straight punch he’d predicted would miss in a similar fashion, preparing a knee to follow up as he-

“ _ Urk!” _

His eyes grew wide with shock as his fist managed to slam itself into the woman’s cheek.

Another moment later, she was airborne.

Gohan’s face grew white as a sheep as he watched Videl launch back five feet before collapsing in a heap in the sand.

_ Fuck! I wasn’t paying attention! _

He’d been letting his mind wander too much during the fight!

The demi-Saiyan immediately rushed to the young woman’s side, kneeling as he noticed her back turned to him, her shoulders trembling.

_ Damn it! I made her cry! Oh, Kami, what do I do?! _

Panic began to set in for the young man as he scrambled. “I’m so sorry! I should have been more careful! Is there anything I can do to-”

“Hehehe…”

_ ...What? _

Videl’s thin frame suddenly rolled over, her lips curled in a smile as she echoed another round of laughter. “Well,  _ that  _ was fun, wasn’t it?”

Gohan blinked, the panic slowly bleeding from his mind as his lips formed a grin as well. “Yeah.” He let his body sit back in the sand, relieved that she hadn’t been hurt. “Yeah, it was.”

“So, did I pass?”

“Pass?”

“The test.” Videl slowly pushed herself up, brushing off the specks of sand clinging to her otherwise pale, unblemished thighs. “If you’d be willing to teach me more about Ki control.”

Gohan paused in thought. She  _ definitely  _ showed promise, but did that mean that he was  _ actually  _ considering taking on  _ another  _ disciple?

He imagined that Trunks wouldn’t be upset over it given his assessment of the woman being a ‘total bombshell’.

Gohan caught his gaze lingering on the woman’s exposed legs as he placated the thought. 

“...”

He pulled his eyes away a moment later as he prevented a blush forming on his cheeks. Granted, the kid was right, but Gohan knew that should not be a deciding factor when considering taking on another  _ disciple _ .

_ You are the  _ ** _teacher_ ** _ , and she will be your  _ ** _student_ ** _ . _

He felt it important he cement that fact in his mind before he proceeded. He tried to come up for reasons  _ not  _ to train her. Was there actually any drawbacks from taking on another student?

_ You’ll have less time to train yourself. _

He paused, considering the fact. He supposed it was the truth, if he was being honest, but it wasn’t like he was spending all his time training by himself, either. He tried to remember the last time he was out here like this. Had it been a month and a half?

The young man pushed himself to his feet, standing next to an expectant-looking Videl.

“Well…?” She raised her eyebrows at him. 

Gohan took one final pause to consider his options. He doubted she would ever get to a level that she could actually sway a fight against the Androids, but more people being able to protect themselves during an attack couldn’t be a bad thing, right?

“Alright, I don’t see why not.” He finally relented.

He watched her smile grow wide.

He let out a soft chuckle. “Alright, alright, but I’m not gonna start teaching you this moment. I still want to finish my own training.” 

_ Also, I have no idea what to teach! _

He realized that he would likely need to plan out lessons ahead of time, now, instead of the typical sparring sessions he had with Trunks. 

“Oh.” She blinked, her eyes registering a surprise as if she hadn’t even considered that, “Okay, yeah that’s fine. I’ll um, text you, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.” He nodded. “Be careful on your flight home, okay? You’ve used a lot of energy, today. You don’t want to collapse midair.”

She flashed him a smile. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

He watched her turn, walking away a short distance before posing to take to the air. Abruptly however, she paused, a frown pulling at her lips.

His head tilted to the side. “Something the matter?”

The tension in the woman’s legs eased as she righted herself into a simple standing position, staring down at the ground at her feet. It looked to Gohan that she was thinking something, something that appeared to be bothering her…?

Finally, he watched as she growled, stomping her foot once in the sand, before turning on her heel and walking back towards him with a determined expression on her face.

He could see her fingers had curled back into fists.

Despite knowing that he was incalculably stronger than her, that didn’t stop his nervousness from bubbling to the top as she drew closer. 

“V-Videl?” He heard the slightly hitch to his voice as the word left his lips. A second later, Videl was standing before him, her brows furrowed in a ferocious expression.

“Thank you.” She finally said.

Gohan jumped when he felt the woman wrap her arms around his chest, pulling him into a hug he hadn’t expected. 

“I-I” He stammered, his face bright red from the sudden contact. Looking down, Gohan had the unceremonious realization that he was  _ still  _ topless. 

“You’re welcome?” he answered, confused. He’d merely offered to teach her, no need to-

“It’s for when you taught me how to sense Ki.” Finally, she pulled away. “I told myself I would give you a hug for that… and now I have.” He couldn’t tell very well in the dark, but there was the slightest hint of a  _ blush  _ on her cheeks.

“Bye.”

A second later, the winds all around him picked up as she shot into the sky. He watched as her slim frame slowly disappeared into the twinkling night.

The young man stood still for a long time, his mind replaying the night’s events as he did. He’d certainly not expected to see  _ Videl  _ of all people showing up tonight. Hell, he hadn’t expected  _ anyone  _ to show up tonight. And to find out that the woman could  _ fight  _ and wanted to learn from him? 

_ Well, I guess today was certainly eventful. _

He thought to himself as he slowly started to stretch, limbering his body up in preparation to continue fighting. His brow furrowed as he’d noticed something that had just occurred to him. He remembered Videl, or at least, he’d thought he’d remembered Videl well enough, given that it had only been a little over a month since their last interaction. He supposed that there was a  _ chance  _ that he was remembering things wrong, even a likelihood since it wouldn’t make sense otherwise.

_ Were Videl’s eyes always blue? _

* * *

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:  
Hello all! Thank you for being patient and waiting for this installment. Not-so-fun-fact: This chapter got corrupted during the editing process! This unfortunately meant that everyone’s favorite beta reader Ben, had to go through and clean up this chapter two times(hence the wait)! So please, everyone give a MASSIVE thank you for Ben working so hard.   
Moving on to happier notes.  
As many of you can likely tell, this chapter was a MAJOR moment for Eighteen’s character, as well as a realization (for me) that for some reason Gohan as a character is very effective to write even when he’s by himself. The following chapters are going to reflect this new dynamic, and hopefully be something that you all enjoy :).  
The next chapter shouldn’t be too long of a wait considering how often my mind is thinking out this story. Quite literally, I have mapped out and outlined basically the entire plot of this fic, from beginning to end, I know where I need to go.   
And trust me when I say, it’s going to be a wild ride ;).
> 
> Until next time!


	15. Talking With A Monster Chapter 15: Investigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noticing a trend in Trunk's day to day activities, Android Eighteen finds herself investigating the boy in her interest. What she fines in her search leads her to returning to a place she would have preferred left alone.

-???-

Fear.

The concept itself was hardly new to him, he’d seen its effect written across the faces of his  _ numerous  _ victims. The large eyes, gaping mouths, the  _ screams _ ; these were all expressions of fear that he was more than familiar with. 

This was, however, the first time he was experiencing it for  _ himself _ .

The creature without a name sat quietly in the corner of the poorly lit room, his tail curled defensively around himself as he listened to the  _ rampage  _ going on above him. Up the dull grey ladder and out the secret hatch Dr. Gero had never revealed to  _ anyone _ , he could feel the tremors of Seventeen’s  _ frenzy. _

_ Why is he  _ ** _here_ ** _ ? _

He’d missed the Android’s arrival as he’d been asleep at the time, curled up in his makeshift bed composed of old blankets and pillows he’d stolen from his victims. That had soon changed however as a massive  _ crash  _ had startled him awake. 

“Where is it?!” He could just barely make out the voice of Android Seventeen as he threw what sounded like one of the incubation pods across the room.

He jumped when he heard it explode against the wall.

_ Where is what? _

Dr. Gero’s final creation stared unblinking at the secret door leading down to what had been his birthplace, and was, for the time being, his  _ home _ . If that panel gave, if a stray blast or a single violent, accidental  _ stomp  _ tore through that barrier, it could mean the end for him.

He knew that the power gap between him and just  _ one  _ of the Androids was so vast that it was hardly comparable. If one of them got a hold of him and decided they didn’t  _ like  _ him, which he knew was likely given his less than  _ pleasant  _ appearance, they each held the power to vaporize him.

“Nothing? Not even… what type of… some sort of blueprint?” The words were muffled, barely audible through the thick layer of steel dividing them.

_ Blue... print? _

The term was foreign to him, having learned what little he could of language through those he  _ ingested _ . The very concept of language had been entirely alien to him up until he’d accidentally stumbled upon his first humanoid victim: they had been passed out, leaning against a tree with a mysterious, foul odor on their breath, as well as an empty glass bottle in their hand.

Swallowing him had been by far the easiest and most  _ significant  _ kill up until that point. Before, he’d been little more than a predator amongst the vast stretch of woods, hunting deer and other life to sustain himself, just as a wolf or mountain lion would. 

But afterwards?

Afterwards, suddenly he could understand the concept of  _ planning _ , higher level brain functions were abruptly available to him, and he hadn’t known  _ why _ . 

Immediately, he sought another victim like his first. That one had taught him the concept of  _ words _ , even if not how to use or understand them. 

The next had taught him the concept of family.

Then, he learned of toys from a small boy he’d swallowed.

Each victim would teach him something more, something  _ new  _ about the world that he hadn’t known before. As they each became a part of him, a  _ piece  _ of their knowledge would be shared along with their energy.

It was  _ fascinating _ .

He listened intently as Seventeen moved to the back of the lab, where he knew Dr. Gero’s other computer sat, before hearing a terrible metallic  _ tearing  _ noise echo off the walls of the thoroughly destroyed lab.

“RRAH!” 

He jumped as the entire structure rumbled from the resulting explosion. He could feel his outer shell trembling as he remained huddled in the corner of the sublab.

Finally, he could hear the Android’s rage subside. His feet clicked to the exit, before a whisk of wind told the unnamed creature that the threat was over.

He let out a breath that he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

“Blue… print.” 

He repeated the term, his yellow, glowing eyes narrowing to slits as he tried to decipher its meaning. From what he could gather, it had sounded like the Android had been after something called a ‘blue-print’.

His head turned to look at the ‘posters’ he’d placed up on the walls of his home, or at least, that’s what he’d  _ thought  _ they were. He’d learned the concept of ‘decoration’ from an adolescent who’d wandered too far into  _ his  _ woods, and had assumed the pictures lying around the lab had been of a similar nature.

“Blue…” His eyes scanned over the contents of the large sheet of paper he’d gathered from the upper lab and brought down here to hang up. He could not yet read the words as letters had yet to be taught to him, but he  _ had  _ been able to understand  _ who  _ they were about.

There had been multiple pictures of Androids Seventeen and Eighteen lying about the lab, diced and outlined by white lines depicting what appeared to be internal components. There were lines branching out from specific locations with little boxes filled with unintelligible information. 

“Blue…” Slowly, he began to crawl over towards the picture depicting Android Seventeen. It’s background  _ was  _ blue—a color he learned the name of after absorbing a young girl who’d shot him multiple times in the  _ head— _ with grid lines spacing the portions of his body.

_ Is  _ ** _this _ ** _ what he wants? _

But why? What value did this have to the Android? And why had he been so  _ upset  _ over it?

“...Hmm…”

He couldn’t tell just what, but  _ something  _ had happened, and he intended to find out just  _ what _ .

  
  


_ -Eighteen- _

She froze, her eyes pools of white as she stared at her own reflection. She’d merely intended to take a shower after having been flung into the dirt. It had been mere happenstance that her eyes caught themselves in the bathroom mirror.

_ No… _

Her pale  _ blue  _ eyes.

_ No, no, no… _

She’d completely forgotten. She hadn’t had time to put in her black contacts when she’d rushed out of the hotel. Something about thinking she was about to fight for her brother’s life for the second time in a month had made them slip her mind.

_ ...Could he have not noticed? _

It  _ had  _ been dark out. It was entirely possible he couldn’t make out her eyes clearly at all.

_ He sure didn’t mention it if he  _ ** _did _ ** _ notice… _

She frowned, biting her bottom lip in thought. If he hadn’t, she should simply return to her previous contacts and behave as if nothing were different… right? He hadn’t shown even a flinch of acknowledgement during their conversation, that meant he’d been unaware, right?

Something in her mind didn’t trust the idea completely. 

Unfortunately, she knew it was impossible to know what he had or hadn’t noticed. She would need to wear the black contacts again, and simply act like she hadn’t slipped. 

She sighed, rubbing her hands into her eyes as she released an aggravated groan. 

“Damn it, Eighteen.” She quietly cursed.

Despite having an ever-replenishing energy supply that fueled her body at one-hundred percent at all times, she couldn’t help but feel absolutely  _ drained  _ from the last hour. 

_ I might actually take a nap after this. _

The idea sounded pleasant.

A moment later, the wig had been pulled off her head and tossed to the window, bouncing off harmlessly as she removed the rest of her clothes.

The warm water felt refreshing as she closed her eyes. She leaned against the wall before her, letting her soaked, clumped strands of hair hang before her sagging head. 

She let out a sigh she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

  
  


_ -Days later- _

The edges of her salmon colored tracksuit, the jacket zipped all the way up to her chin, bristled as the wind tore past her petite form. It was an outfit the  _ old  _ her would have never even  _ dared  _ to wear out in public. Far too…  _ girly  _ for the queen goddess of death to parade around in. It would have messed up her whole atmosphere! 

“...” She shook her head at the thought. 

But now that she was ‘Videl’, a seemingly normal girl with a normal,  _ human  _ skill set; she found a silent delight in wearing  _ simple  _ and  _ cute  _ clothes. And, while  _ especially  _ feminine… she  _ did  _ admittedly enjoy the white line that trailed up the sides of her legs. 

When she had been ‘Android Eighteen, destroyer of anything-she-damn-well- _ pleased’, _ she had to make sure her clothing decisions were  _ stylish _ . The entire  _ world  _ followed her and her brother’s exploits. How pathetic would it be if the  _ destroyers _ dressed in baggy sweatpants and a shirt two sizes too big? No, the world could  **never ** know that those were her comfy clothes. 

But Videl? She could wear normal-people clothes. 

Eighteen found that she liked normal-people clothes. 

She turned her head with the wind, finally used to the long locks of obsidian hair that trailed behind her.

Maybe she liked having long hair. _Slightly_.   
It was… bouncy… and fun to play with.

Below her, the clouds were racing, each unique shape desperately attempting to pull ahead of the other as she rode the roaring currents. She wondered if people realized how fast clouds  _ actually  _ move up close. Probably not, she figured, since they would only ever see them crawling across the sky from down below. 

_ Huh, never thought about that. _

Of course, she wasn’t here to go cloud watching. No, far below the clouds, past any vision a normal, _unenhanced _eye could see, was the ruined remains of Gohan and Seventeen’s fight.   
While the battle _had _been relatively contained compared to their _typical_ rampages, what had been damaged had still been several blocks worth of homes and businesses. 

_ The minutes before Gohan got here… _

She acknowledged. She quietly wondered how many Seventeen had managed to slaughter before Gohan had arrived. 

She blinked, frowning as her brows came together.

_ Never thought about that before.  _

It had never mattered. 

The woman shook her head, ridding her mind of the thought as she focused on the young man she’d tracked down after noticing something  _ strange  _ over the past month. 

Trunks, for whatever reason, had revisited these exact ruins multiple times a week ever since the fight. She’d focused on his energy signature several times when she’d been away, simply interested in seeing what a different, and still  _ somewhat  _ significant power level was doing on the Earth. Before, she’d been curious, but ultimately felt that engaging would be foolish, and risky. 

Now that she was already planning to return to training with them, she figured, why not? It couldn’t hurt to just ask, could it?

_ What is he looking for? _

Her brow arched curiously as her eyes narrowed on the boy. He was lifting a cement wall with a little bit of effort, his eyes darting underneath before frowning and dropping it back down, the white brickwork shattering upon impact. 

“Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

She released her energy, allowing gravity to take her as she began to rapidly fall. She shot like a bullet towards the ground, having chosen her landing point very carefully. At the last second, she gathered her energy around her all at once, stopping mere feet away from the already cracked cement. She’d landed just around the corner from where she’d last seen the boy. She stepped onto the sidewalk, lifting one foot back to adjust the grey running shoe to a comfortable position.

_Been awhile since I’ve done this. I never did like exercise.__  
_ She knew it would appear strange if she simply _appeared _next to the boy, asking what he was doing. She didn’t want to _reveal _the fact that she’d been tracking the young man… as well as his mentor.

But, it wasn’t unreasonable to just so  _ happen  _ to be out on a run, now could it? Maybe a little odd to be doing it within the remains of what used to be people’s homes… but not wholly unheard of, she figured. 

A moment later, she was in motion. It took her less than a minute to round the corner and spot the young man, his back turned towards her as he moved towards a collapsed coffee shop.

_ The ‘Busy Bean’... _

She allowed herself to run a few more feet, allowing the sound of her feet slapping against the pavement to be known before announcing, “oh!” Her feet slowed to a stop several yards behind him.

She watched the young man turn, his brow furrowed as his puzzled eyes turned towards her.

There was a pause, and she could tell he was trying to recognize her. 

She smiled. “It’s me, Videl.” She raised a polite wave.

She caught a flash of recognition. “Videl!” he announced with wide eyes. “It’s been so long!” He flashed a bright, youthful smile as he walked toward her. She took note of his long sleeve shirt, dirtied and torn in places—from moving debris, she assumed. He also had thick workers gloves on, well worn and scratched in places. 

“It has.” She shook her head. “That’s my fault. I was going through some… stuff.” She looked away frowning. “But, I have good news.” Her eyebrows rose. “I got in touch with Gohan, I’m gonna start training with you guys again. This time, seriously.”

His eyebrows rose higher. “Wait, do you mean, like, fighting and stuff?”

She slowly nodded her head. 

She watched the boy’s eyes light up. “That’s great! I never thought I would get another sparring partner.”

She laughed at his enthusiasm. “Well, kiddo, you better watch out, or else I’m gonna pull ahead of you and start beating you up right in front of your mentor.”

Trunks snickered at her comment. “Eh.” He scratched the back of his head, a habit she’d noticed Gohan had too. “I think you might have it rough trying to compare to me.” He flashed a toothy grin.

Her eyebrows rose, it was as if he knew something that she didn’t. Was there some unbeknownst reason she would naturally not be able to be as strong as him in due time? Or was he just being overconfident?

“Hm, we’ll just have to see about that.” She shrugged with a subtle, confident smile.

“Well, if you’re jogging to stay in shape, I guess you’re probably on the right track,” he commented, nodding. “Trying to get fit for when Gohan starts teaching you?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, word from the wise, training with Gohan can be tough. Trust me, it’s no cakewalk.”

“Is that right?”

“Oh, for sure!” His eyes widened with sincerity. “I remember the first weeks were absolutely  _ grueling _ . I was healing from bruises left and right and that was  _ with  _ Gohan pulling his punches.”

Her eyes winced. “Oof, that sounds rough.”

The lavender haired teen let out a sigh, his hands on his hips. “It was, honestly. But, after those first few weeks, I started to figure things out, and now I rarely go home with more than one bruise after training.” He suddenly flashed a nervous smile. “I’m sure Gohan will take it easier on you though, I don’t want to scare you off, of course.”

“I think I’ll manage.” She shrugged. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Oh,” The teen turned to look over his shoulder at the debris he’d been clearing out of the devastated coffee shop. “Right, I’m looking for an… arm?” 

“An arm?” She repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Not like a human arm, or anything!” He abruptly added, waving his hands out in front of him.

_ Not a human arm? So he means- _

Her eyes flashed wide as she suddenly understood.

“You see, when I came and gave Gohan our energy, I saw that Seventeen’s arm was torn off in the fight.” His head slowly turned to scan over the wreckage. “Somewhere… out here…”

“Why do you want Seventeen’s arm?”

“It’s not obvious?” he smiled, his tone still sweet. “It’s for Gohan.”

Her lips parted, staring at the young man in surprise. 

...It made  _ sense  _ when she thought about it. 

“So, why-” She paused. “Have Gohan and your mom been helping you search?” She had to make sure to maintain the appearance that this was all new to her. Although, the arm revelation was  _ not  _ something she had been expecting. 

His lips pulled into a sheepish smile. “Admittedly… no. I wanted to find it as a sort of ‘surprise’ for Gohan.”

Eighteen frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “But wait… was the hand Seventeen lost on his  _ left  _ side?” She knew her brother had lost his  _ right  _ hand. She didn’t know when or where, or even  _ how,  _ but she couldn’t imagine Gohan would want two right hands. 

Trunks shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. My mom’s a scientific  _ genius _ .” She watched the boy smirk with pride. “I know that if she got her hands on just the arm itself, she would be able to reverse engineer a left arm for Gohan. She just knows stuff. Besides,” he sighed, shaking his head. “She’s already been trying to figure out how to make an arm for Gohan. She’s gone through a few prototypes already. The problem isn’t the arms themselves, they’re usually really good, it’s just that they have to be able to survive Gohan’s speed and strength in a fight. Even just one  _ serious  _ punch smashes them immediately everytime.” 

“And you know that the Androids obviously are able to fight at levels stronger than Gohan is.”

“Well,” he smirked. “I’d say they can fight at levels _close _to how strong Gohan is.”

She had to conceal the scowl threatening to consume her features as she acknowledged the comment. “Right.”

“So, yeah,” He shrugged. “That’s what I’ve been up to. I’ve been at it for the past month and haven’t found anything yet.” He sighed, his eyes looked distant as he peered down the road. “It’s only a handful of blocks and yet I still haven’t dug anything up. I’m beginning to believe that it was completely destroyed when he lost it.”

“...” She frowned, watching the tired, defeated look in his youthful eyes. “...Want some help?” She wasn’t entirely certain what brought on the inspiration to help the young man search for her brother’s severed limb. In fact, the concept alone was rather vulgar, in retrospect. 

But, something in her appreciated the young man before her, even if it was only a  _ tiny  _ bit. He’d been at this for a month now and  _ still  _ hadn’t given up. She knew that must have been taxing to go day after day with nothing to show for it. 

A part of her respected him for it. It showed his resilience, an aspect of his  _ strength _ —one concept she always understood. 

She watched his eyebrows raise. “Really?”

“Yeah, why not? I’ve got nothing better to do.” She said as she walked past him, rolling up her sleeves as she prepared to shift through the rubble.

That much was true.

_ -Two Hours Later- _

Unfortunately for the duo, their search had yielded little in terms of Android arms—or anything else of interest, for that matter. 

Of course, there had been that stuffed, torn-off dinosaur head Trunks had found and immediately stuck on his head. He’d rounded a corner on her, sticking out abruptly in response to a question she’d asked. 

“Hm?” He’d turned to her seriously.

She had to admit the act had made her laugh.

Later, she’d managed to slip behind some curtains without the boy noticing, only to scare him as he pulled them back in his search. He’d jumped  _ literally  _ five feet into the air, much to her bemusement. 

Other than those encounters however, their search had been a bust.

“I’m gonna call it quits for today.” Trunks finally admitted, his back sliding down a wall as he sat down. “Thanks for your help today, it made it a lot easier.”

She shot him a polite nod. “No problem. Sorry we didn’t find anything.”

He shrugged. “It just means I have to keep looking until I eventually find it.”

“But what if it’s not here?”

“Well, I guess then I’ll have to find that out myself, too.” He sighed, before slowly pushing himself back to his feet. “Anyway, I gotta get home, mom’s-” He paused, his face blushing.

Eighteen grinned, “Mom’s expecting you?”

“Heh...” His hand moved to rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, she’s making dinner…”

The Android couldn’t help but realize how much Trunks was still just a child at that moment. A kid, with a bed time and a mother who loved him. The thought made her realize just how mature he was for his age. Growing up around Gohan and Bulma, she supposed that made sense.  
“Well, don’t let me stop you.” She waved a hand. “Tell her I said hi.”

“Alright, I’ll make sure to let her know.” The air around him swelled before he was picked off the ground, hovering a few feet in the air as he waved. “Thanks again, Videl. I’ll see you at training!” 

In a matter of seconds, the boy was little more than a speck in the distance.

  
  


_ -Several Hours Later- _

Eighteen had decided to stick around a little longer after Trunks had left, deciding that she would give her own go of things without having to limit herself to the expectations the young man would have of her. Not tiring certainly had its perks, and allowed her to continue her search through the wreckage for far longer than she’d initially intended to stay. 

She didn’t have a concrete reason for  _ why  _ she wanted to try and help the boy—or rather, the boy’s  _ mentor.  _ A part of her simply felt it  _ should  _ be important to her that she recover her brother’s leftover arm if nothing else. One way or another, the kid was right. That  _ was  _ a delicate and valuable piece of technology, and if the wrong hands found it, it could lead to some difficulties down the road.

_ It’s already dark out. _

She thought as her onyx eyes turned to scan the night sky. Perhaps she should return to her home as well. It didn’t appear that she was going to uncover anything tonight. She observed the dark grey clouds flash with activity, a few seconds later she heard the boom of thunder reach her.

She could already hear the pitter patter of rain begin to slowly descend upon her.

_ Yup, definitely time to head out. _

It took mere seconds before she was off the ground and shooting through the sky once more, her eyes trained ahead towards her destination.

_ I wonder if that arm even still exists. _

There had been a  _ lot  _ of raw energy being thrown around in that battle. It was entirely possible it had disintegrated entirely in whatever attack Seventeen had lost it in. She’d searched through that debris good and long, using what she remembered of the fight to avoid locations she and Gohan had personally been responsible for to aid her search, and  _ still  _ came out with  _ nothing _ .

In that case, perhaps it was wiser to look elsewhere for that information. 

Her head tilted to the side in thought, her hair bellowing in the wind behind her. She’d never needed the information so she’d never pursued it before but, if she  _ did  _ want information on her own design, where would she go?

_ Well, the lab, of course- _

She froze, her eyes wide with realization.

_ Seventeen! _

The lab would have been the  _ first  _ place her brother would have gone to if he was searching for a way to fix his arm. Would he have found some sort of schematics on their design? Did those even exist? She had no idea. All she  _ did  _ know was that if Seventeen  _ had  _ uncovered those documents and found someone like Bulma to work on him… he could possibly fix himself and pose a serious threat to Gohan once more. 

She could see her hotel building drawing closer as the cold, damp winds pounded against her thin frame, her hair whipping wildly behind her.

Her pink form shot pasted her balcony a moment later, her eyes no longer tracking her bed, but on a new set of coordinates. 

_ This is more important. _

She told herself as she soared towards Dr. Gero’s old laboratory. 

The frigid water slammed against her shoulders, her eyes squinting as she stared down at a place she would never forget. Even if she’d wanted it to be erased, it had been embedded into her _core programming, _so she would forever know it’s immediate coordinates.  
The place where the old her _died._

She shut her eyes as she gently floated towards the cave’s damp entrance, darkness swallowing her as she drifted to the massive steel-!

Her eyebrows immediately rose. The last time she’d checked, the head supercomputer had  _ not  _ been hanging halfway out an already cleaved-through door.

She idly questioned if her brother had tried to work the computer, discovered that he couldn’t and destroyed it out of frustration. Slowly, she lifted until she could just barely squeeze through the gap provided by what she assumed had been her brother’s rampage. 

The room was dark, the lights all shattered and hanging uselessly from the cracked ceiling. This was little issue for the Android as her eyes immediately adapted to the lack of light.

_ Hmmm _ .

She flew nimbly about the room, careful not to bump anything as she studied it. It certainly _looked _like his handy work. Both of the large cold, steel tables had been ripped from their positions, despite each being bolted down. One was driven deep into the bottom half of what used to be the main computer.   
The other table had been impaled into the center of an old incubation pod the _doctor _had used to store them when they’d been switched _off_.

Her eyes glanced down at the pod number.

_ Seventeen… _

Her thoughts drifted back to the second time they’d been released shortly following the first time they’d been emergency shut down for  _ unruly behavior. _

She could still remember her brother’s first words after stepping out, after having a moment alone for the first time in who knew how long.

“I don’t dream in there.” He’d said, his eyes cold as he stared back at the pod. 

She could remember that look he’d given, the _disdain_. Of course, he’d been right. It was like sleep, but at the same time, not at all. It never felt like rest, it felt like you were being shut off.   
Just, _off_.

Like a vacuum.

She let a dripping hand rest on the bisected pod. She remembered wondering if one day they annoyed Dr.Gero  _ just  _ enough, he might shut them off, and leave them off.

_ Forever _ .

The thought had terrified her during her short time under that old  _ fool’s  _ thumb. 

Her eyes slowly trailed over the folded and broken table impaled into the computer. She could still remember the procedure. She’d been awake through most of it, she believed, sedated to a point that she could feel nothing,  _ move  _ nothing, but awake all the same. She’d been able to  _ feel  _ his hands within her, removing the parts of her he’d decided were no longer needed for his plans. She’d remembered feeling  _ terrified  _ and  _ helpless _ , pinned to that table by her hands and feet despite lacking even the ability to move a muscle.

The operation had lasted  _ hours _ . 

She closed her eyes, doing her best to rid herself of the memories, but knowing they would never fully fade. She knew they would be there, whenever they were summoned, for the rest of her life. She imagined that Seventeen had his own fair share of memories he would be carrying with him for the rest of his life. 

Her eyes continued to register the devastated room. The walls and floor were cracked and dented in more places than one. The room had been turned upside down. All the cupboards had been opened, and many of the doors had been torn off their hinges. Judging from the evidence of his tantrum, it appeared to her that her brother had failed to find anything at all. 

_ It’s not like you throw a table through a wall  _ ** _because _ ** _ you found what you were looking for.  _

She winced as she gently placed a hand on an indent in the wall, where his fist tore through the metal. She knew that he must have felt an incredible hate in these moments. She wondered how many of those moments he was thinking about her. 

_ I bet a lot of them. _

She sighed from the thought, looking back towards the entrance of the laboratory. It was clear that her brother had already been here, and by the looks of things, been unsuccessful. Regardless, it meant that there was nothing here, whether he found it or otherwise. 

_ Time to head- _

‘ ** _BEEP BOP_ ** ’

A robot voice sang. The woman paused, looking down at her phone.

_ A text? _

Her eyes grew wide when she saw who it was from.

_ ‘Hey Videl, hope you’re doing well. I’ve figured out what your next lesson in Ki will be! Would you be free in the next few days?’ _

Immediately, her finger moved to respond, clicking quietly against the screen.

‘ _ Sure. Free tomorrow if that works.” _

She waited patiently as she stared for a response, the roar of an ocean falling from the sky still echoing down the walls of the cave. 

She’d forgotten that she was thoroughly  _ soaked  _ at the moment.

She frowned when she heard a quiet noise from behind her. It had been so silent, so careful that, had the room not been entirely silent except for the dripping of her tracksuit, she might have missed it.

It sounded like the hinge of a squeaky door slowly being pushed open.

Her head snapped to the side as she looked over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of movement as the floor...  _ shifted _ ? As well as something else she’d seen. A glimpse of a hand, or she thought it was a hand. It had looked  _ green _ . 

A moment later, the room was exactly how it had been seconds prior. Her eyes remained locked onto the point of the floor she’d registered movement.

‘ ** _BEEP BOP_ ** ’!

She resisted the urge to check as she stuffed the device into her pocket and began to slowly approach the shiny, metallic floor panel of suspicion.

Her eyes narrowed. 

Something had  _ definitely  _ moved. Meaning  _ something  _ must have moved it.

The Android let her eyes fall shut as she expanded her senses, forcing them out so that she could soak in the life of the world.

What she felt,  _ baffled  _ her. It was like she was sensing the energy signature of dozens… no…  _ hundreds  _ of different people all forced to occupy the same body. What  _ chilled  _ the woman to her very core was the fact that one of these energy signatures was one she recognized.

_ Gohan? _

It was weak, a mere speck within the oceans of other signatures occupying this creature’s Ki, but it was unmistakably his.

For a brief, panicked moment, Eighteen pushed out her senses even further, washing over the world as she searched for his energy. 

_ There! _

She could feel him. He wasn’t at his apartment, but at Bulma’s residence for whatever reason. She could sense Trunks with him, likely bugging him as he tried to get done whatever task he was doing. 

She breathed a sigh of relief, before feeling foolish that she’d done so in the first place. She could sense it, roughly forty feet beneath the surface just below her. It felt so… strange,  _ twisted  _ even, entirely different from Gohan or Trunks, although its power output  _ was  _ on a similar scale to the latter. 

It tasted…  _ corrupted _ . Like something foul had died and then been left out to  _ rot  _ afterwards. It was almost unpleasant to have it occupy her senses as she focused on it. She could sense that it was nervous, and likely  _ aware  _ of her presence. A part of her questioned if it had seen a glimpse of her and had immediately slipped away afterwards. 

_ Hmmm _ .

She had  _ several  _ questions.

Her hand aimed downward, firing a single blast that cut through the thick steel panel with ease. Staring down the hole, she could see a ladder leading down to a dark basement area.

_ A secret underground lab. Of course he had a secret underground lab. _

The Android sighed as she lowered herself into the space, her mind focused intently on the energy below. She could tell now that it had slunk away to the opposite end of the room, away from her approaching form. 

A second later, her damp sneakers struck the hard floor. Her eyes widened as they took in her surroundings. Hung up on the walls were images of herself and her brother, schematics detailing the intricate innerworkings of their creation. There was also a seemingly random mess of loose items scattered across the floor. She could see the nozzle of a water hose laying in the corner of the room alongside a small metal doorknob hanging off the remains of what she assumed had once been a wooden door. To her left was a prominent looking glass tube, spanning the width of a few feet and the height of a man. It looked like it could have once contained liquid, but had since shattered and released what had once been within. 

Her eyes immediately darted to the corner of the room, where she knew whoever was down here was currently hiding.

“I know you’re there.” She said, staring straight towards it. The creature had managed to position itself behind a tipped over table to obscure itself. She’d felt their energy spike when she’d spoken.

“Come out.  **Now.** ” She spoke sternly.

There was a pregnant pause before she heard a  _ crunching  _ sound, then an  _ unnerving  _ clicking noise as the figure behind the table began to  _ shift. _

She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as the crest of what she could only describe as a horribly deformed crown began to rise above the table to reveal an equally disturbing face still lurking in the darkness of the unlit room. 

She watched its snake-like eyes latch onto her own.

“What the  _ fuck  _ are you?” she growled, her hand raising to blast it.

She didn’t know why she thought it could understand her now that she could finally_ see _its hideous face. But, something about living in a secret underground lab built by Dr. Gero himself gave the Android a clue as to who was responsible for this creature, and she knew what to expect from one of the Doctor’s creations.

Upon seeing her raised hand, the creature paused. It’s head tilted slowly to the left, almost… confused…? It was as if he was studying her and not understanding what he could see.

_ “...Eight... teen? _ ”

The Android felt herself shudder at this monster’s first words. The voice had sounded strained and gravelly, as if the very act of speech was a struggle. 

_ What the  _ ** _fuck _ ** _ was Dr. Gero making down here? _

She’d thought that her brother and she had been the worst of his  _ monstrosities _ . But this thing? This thing made her want to second guess that fact.

She let energy fill her hand, lighting the room in a scarlet red as she glared at the monster before her. If it was made by Dr. Gero, it meant she had absolutely  _ zero  _ qualms about killing it here and now.

“You know me?” She asked, realizing that the beast had managed to pick her out from her disguise.

Of course, it wasn’t like there were  _ many  _ people who knew of this place and also fired energy blasts, but how did this  _ thing  _ know that?

“ _ ...No… Seven... teen _ ?” It’s voice was strained, clearly struggling to ask its question.

“So you know of my brother too, huh?” She snarled, the ball of energy in her hand growing larger now. “I’d start answering  _ my  _ questions if you don’t want me to completely  _ obliterate  _ you. Let’s start with your  _ name _ .”

“...”

“Answer me!” She shouted, her voice filling the room as she watched the disgusting creature shutter back. She could see more of it now that it had backed away. It was hunched over on all fours, its body mottled and chitinous like a massive, humanoid bug as it stared unblinking at her. 

“ _ No... name. _ ” It finally responded.

She raised a brow in response. No name? It hadn’t even picked a name for itself?

She took a moment to look towards what she was considering a massive test tube. She could see the word ‘ _ Cell’  _ written at its base.

_ No one ever said Dr. Gero was a very creative man when it came to naming his projects. _

She mentally quipped to herself as she watched the creature begin to slowly shuffle closer, as if having waited until her eyes had pulled off of him for just a moment.

_ “ _ Hold it!” She shouted, re-aligning her hand with what she was rapidly realizing was a  _ large  _ being, likely standing several heads taller than herself if it stood up straight. It paused at her command, continuing to stare at her unblinking. 

“Don’t move an inch closer.”

“ _ But…”  _ It began, his arms and legs slowly moving rhythmically to approach her. “ _ I...  _ ** _need_ ** _ you.”  _

She couldn’t decide on whether or not ‘Cell’ was just terrifyingly creepy or if she just felt that way because he was staring at her like she was a slab of fresh  _ meat _ . She determined a moment later that it was likely both. 

“...What do you mean?” She said, taking a step back as she reminded herself that the power output of...  _ whatever  _ this thing was could barely hope to challenge the likes of  _ Trunks _ , let alone herself.

_ “I’ll...  _ ** _devour_ ** _ you.”  _ It rasped. “ _ And then…we’ll become...  _ ** _whole_ ** _ .” _

“Yeah,  **fuck that** .” She snarled before letting the growing scarlet energy erupt from her parm. The light tore through Cell who, at the last minute had attempted to leap away from the attack.

She watched as the beam impaled the monster, completely vaporizing its vital organs and leaving a basket ball sized hole in its torso. A few moments later, it slumped to the ground, dead. 

She stared down at Dr. Gero’s  _ final _ creation, a part of her wondering what it meant when it said it wanted to ‘devour’ her. Another part of her was glad she would never have to find out. She suspected that whatever this...  _ thing  _ had been, it hadn’t been fully matured, or perhaps it had been one of the Doctor’s ‘failed experiments’ left to rot away beneath the lab. 

She turned her head, looking to the walls of this place as she studied them, sensing that the threat was over. She could see a mess of blankets and pillows, mismatched and dirtied sitting in the other corner of the room. She wondered how long ‘Cell’ had managed to live down here; what it did, how it survived...

And  _ why _ it’d had such a  _ fascination  _ with her and her brother. She crossed her arms, studying the wall as she tried to make sense of her own blueprint. She could identify all of the words, but could exactly make sense of what they were  _ saying _ .

_ Too much nerd-speak. _

She quietly determined before heading over and delicately detaching the picture of herself and rolling it up. She didn’t know  _ who  _ would eventually find this place, but she certainly didn’t want schematics on how to replicate the tortures she’d endured in some stranger’s hands.

Carefully, she went to each schematic detailing her and her brother’s design,taking them down and stuffing them into her undershirt, where they would be dry. She stole one last glance towards the remains of what used to be called ‘Cell’. 

“Sorry you were born to be a monster, Cell.”

She flew straight up and through the secret hatch she’d torn through minutes earlier. The woman paused as she stared down at the hole.

She raised a hand at its opening. She didn’t know if there was still anything of worth down there, but she was determined to ensure  _ nothing  _ would still exist after she was done with it.

She let her palm fill with energy, and fired.

_ -???- _

_ Cell? _

Was that his name? Why had she called him that?

He hadn’t dared open his eyes until the woman was gone now that he knew she was hostile. It had been  _ excruciating,  _ to say the very least. Having to mentally  _ deny  _ his healing factor from taking over, to let what was left of his vital organs remain broken and bleeding as he awaited her departure. 

But now he was safe, and now he could finally let his body heal itself. He grimaced as he felt pieces of his form behind to shift, his energy straining as he began to regrow his chest cavity. 

_ It appears Dr. Gero did not let Androids Seventeen and Eighteen know of his plan. _

They had simply not been informed of their place. A part of him had questioned as much. They’d never come back to offer themselves to be absorbed, so he’d figured that they hadn’t known what Gero had designed for them. A part of him had merely  _ assumed  _ that they would want to be a part of him if they knew. Why  _ wouldn’t  _ they want to deliver themselves to him once they knew they were to be a part of  _ true perfection _ ? It made total sense to him. Perhaps... she couldn’t see the big picture like he could. This had been a good way to confirm that fact at the very least. 

He frowned, or at least, did his closest interpretation of a frown when he’d realized she’d stolen what he’d initially interpreted as posters, and what had been clarified as  _ blueprints  _ weeks ago. It appeared that both Androids were after their own designs for one reason or another. What more, it appeared that they were no longer traveling  _ together _ .

** _Very _ ** _ interesting _ .

He thought to himself as he sat, painfully feeling himself reform. 

He would have to investigate further. He’d already discovered that Seventeen and Eighteen had  _ lost  _ their previous engagement with Son Gohan after scouting along the outskirts of West City and overhearing it in a newscast. Paired with their separation, and Eighteen’s  _ strange  _ new appearance, the son of Gero felt extremely  _ intrigued _ .

_ I’ll have to go investigate more if I want to- _

Pain.

Pain  ** _EVERYWHERE._ **

It was the most intense pain he’d ever felt in his entire life. Like being shot in his head by that terrible hunting rifle he’d experienced months earlier but instead he felt it  _ everywhere _ . 

_ Please, make it stop! _

He silently begged as he let his eyes narrowly peeled open, his vision filled with red as the room around him splintered all at once, the weight of the mountain above coming crashing down on top of his exoskeleton as the explosion ruptured the ceiling.

The last moment Cell felt was his entire body being crushed as his room, the only home he’d ever known came crashing down all around him.

Then, he knew darkness.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I hope this chapter finds you all well, and if you are not well, hopefully it made your day a little better instead. This chapter was a little bit shorter than my typical standard, but I felt overall it was more complete where it ended. I really hope to get the next chapter out in a sooner time frame than this one. It actually only took me a week to complete when I finally got around to it, but my other story took me much longer and pulled away my efforts from this story :/. I considered adding a scene with Gohan showing a little tease as to what the next training session will be, but I think it will be more enjoyable as a surprise :). 
> 
> Once again, this chapter was cleaned up by Ben Thryss. Without his work, it would hardly read as cleanly as it does. 
> 
> Not much else to say about this chapter other than please consider dropping a comment! Hearing what you guys think about the story make this whole process worth it. I’ll also do my best to respond to comments to the best of my ability as always!
> 
> Until next time!


	16. The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rumors of a Vigilante within West City begins to grow when Android Eighteen is suspiciously invited out to the forest bordering the large city. Suspicious, 'Videl' appears, curious of what Son Gohan has in store for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I typically don’t do these at the beginning of the chapter, so I’ll make this quick. In the previous chapter, just before the scene where Eighteen is flying above Trunks waiting to touch down, I accidentally put ‘several weeks later’ instead of ‘several days later’. It’s since been corrected, but I wanted to ensure that those of you who read the chapter before I caught the mistake aren’t confused on the timeline. Now, without further ado…

_   
_ _ -Eighteen- _ _   
_ _   
_ _   
  
_

Her head fell back into the plush pillows arrayed atop her king-size bed, the luxurious blankets and mattress cradling her like she was lying on a nice, fluffy cloud. She’d since slipped out of her disguise, changing out of the wet clothes and into an extra-large, extra- _ comfy _ T-shirt, instead. Her wig sat peacefully on a head mannequin next to the contacts case she’d decided to keep on the bedside table. 

Her piercing, sky-blue eyes stared past the four post bed frame and trailed the small, intricate, swirling details marking the ceiling. She let out a slow breath of air, her mind replaying the events of the last few hours.

She could still picture  _ it _ , crawling across the floor, approaching her with that strange, thick tail slithering behind it’s unnatural form. 

“ _ I’ll… _ ** _devour _ ** _ you _ .”

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

_ “And then...We’ll become... _ ** _whole_ ** _ .” _

Eighteen folded her arms behind her head, frowning as she mulled those last words over. It had been such a  _ specific  _ answer to her question. What more, he’d been able to see through her disguise mere  _ moments  _ after meeting her, despite the fact that she was absolutely  _ certain  _ she’d never encountered the creature before in her entire life. 

_ I would  _ ** _definitely_ ** _ remember a face like that.  _

Slowly, her head shifted to look towards the bookshelf in the corner of her bedroom. Resting on the second-to-top shelf were the rolled up blueprints she’d taken from Dr. Gero’s secret underground lab. She eyed them curiously. For one reason or another, Cell had chosen to hang them up all around the lab, no doubt spending considerable amounts of time examining them. Was _that _the reason he’d been able to identify her so fast? How long had it been studying her design on the wall?

_ But  _ ** _why_ ** _ ? _

That was the question, wasn’t it? He knew of her and her brother, had completely surrounded his living space with pictures of them, and had been able to distinguish her through a disguise she’d managed to use to fool even  _ Gohan  _ of all people. Coupled with the unsettling knowledge that he’d wanted to  _ eat her _ , it made her curiosity intensify twofold. 

It was clear to her that Dr. Gero had been planning something, something  _ beyond  _ herself and her brother. What that something was...she realized she would never know. A part of her wished she hadn’t jumped the gun, had waited and probed for just a few more answers before she’d let her attack go. It had been her nerves that gave out and ultimately let loose the ball of energy. Had the damn thing not been so absolutely  _ horrifying _ , she presumed she likely would have kept her cool and gotten answers for the questions currently plaguing her mind. 

Unfortunately for the Android, that wasn’t her  _ only  _ concern. 

She grabbed her phone and reread the message she’d received from Gohan moments after she’d discovered Cell.  
‘_Great! Meet us two miles south of West City tomorrow around noon. Also, remember to bring a full water bottle and a change of clothes!”_

Eighteen’s brow furrowed as she reread the message. The water bottle made sense, she was _training _after all, but a change of clothes? Why? What lesson would require her to change out of her clothes to learn? She frowned, questioning for a moment if his training would damage whatever attire she was wearing at the time, thus requiring the extra set. That, of course, could prove to be a problem if somehow her _disguise _was damaged during this potentially _dangerous _training regime.  
Moreover, why the sudden change in scenery? So far, their lessons had taken place exclusively in the desert Gohan so often frequented. She’d decided to investigate exactly where they’d be meeting on her way back to her suite, only to find it was the border to a massive forest stretching as far as she could see. Why go _there, _of all places? 

The two trains of thought took turns occupying her mind, each plaguing her psyche with worry and doubt as she felt herself grow restless. Finally, Eighteen pushed herself off the bed as she began to get dressed. She knew she wasn’t going to get any rest today. 

_ I need to go for a  _ ** _walk_ ** **.**

  
  


_ -Sesame Street, 2:00 AM- _

The road was empty as Michael sat rigidly inside a discrete grey van parked outside a jewelry store. Its unlit sign read: Goldmine Jewelry. The indoor lights had been turned off for the night. He was in the driver's seat, the sliding door behind him aligned perfectly with the currently  _ open  _ glass door, the alarm having been disabled minutes earlier by Jay, one of his two accomplices currently inside. 

They’d agreed to all wear the same outfit, black ski masks paired with dark long sleeves and slacks, ensuring that they were indistinguishable from each other, just in case an unnoticed camera caught a glimpse of them, although Jay _insisted _that there were no cameras still running after he’d taken down the system.   
Michael felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck as he watched down the street. His task was to be their lookout, and to radio them if he saw anything suspicious going on. So far, his view had been an empty road stretching out on either side of him, street lamps illuminating the sidewalk of the sleeping city. 

Thankfully, there hadn’t even been the rogue pedestrian passing by. He could hear the faint sound of his friends, Jay and Hector, drilling through the medium-sized safe where the jewelry had been locked up overnight. Otherwise, the night had been entirely  _ silent _ .

Unfortunately, that hadn’t calmed the jumpy thief’s nerves. His mask was beginning to soak through with sweat.. 

Anxious eyes darted back and forth down the road, using his side-view mirror to focus on the places he _couldn’t _see by himself. He squinted at the dark areas where the street lamps couldn’t reach, where _anything _could be hiding.  
He swallowed, taking a deep, shaky breath before letting out a calming sigh. It felt like his heart was beating a mile a minute!  
_Relax, Michael, you’re being ridiculous. Everything is going to turn out fine. Jay and Hector will be done in a few minutes, and then we’ll be on our way. _

They’d done plenty of jobs like this, and all of them had gone off without a hitch. Why would this one be any different? Those things he’d heard had only been  _ rumors _ , and hardly believable ones at that. There was absolutely  _ no way _ they could be true. He tried to reason with himself, letting himself relax slightly into his seat before going back to focusing on the road. 

His eyes glanced into his side-view mirror again, pulling away before frowning and looking back. His eyes narrowed, brow furrowing as he stared at a point just above one of the street lamps a block back. 

He couldn’t be sure due to just how dark it was in the moonless night—a deliberate choice made by Hector to ensure they had the  _ most  _ discretion possible—but it looked almost like there was a... _ figure _ resting atop-

Michael jumped as he heard the passenger side door suddenly jerk open. He let out a short _squeak _before scrambling to grab the pistol he’d kept in his pocket for this specific occasion. A moment later, the barrel was pointed in the direction of his disturbance.   
“_Relax, _Mike! It’s just _me._”

The tension in his shoulders eased, letting out a sigh of relief as he put away his weapon. “Damn it, Hector, you scared the shit out of me!” he half whispered, half yelled.   
“Yeah, I can tell.” The bulkier man commented before climbing in beside him and closing the door. “It looked like you were just about to blow my head off.”

“You’d deserve it after freaking me out like that.” He frowned, raising an eyebrow towards his friend. “Wait, why are you back here? Shouldn’t you be inside with Jay?”

Hector scoffed. “That prick was getting on my nerves. Kept talking back to me. Yadda yadda this, yadda yadda that, as if we  _ haven’t  _ all been doing this for the last five months. Seriously, I know what I’m doing, man!”

“You were getting in the way again, and he told you to sit in the car, didn’t he?”

Michael smirked as his friend shot him a dirty look. 

“Yup.” Michael confirmed to himself with a nod.

“So,  _ smartass _ , what’s got you so jumpy? It’s not like you to pull your gun like that. Something up?”

Michael let out an annoyed growl, his head falling back against his seat. “It’s this stupid rumor that’s been floating around. It’s got in my head and now I’m all paranoid.”

“Rumor?”

“Yeah, there’s been this rumor about some weird thing that’s been targeting criminals in West City. They call it ‘The Broken’ since it leaves all it’s victims only just  _ barely  _ alive, aka,  _ broken. _ ”

“Broken…?” He watched his colleague cock his head,  _ confused _ , before his eyes lit up in recognition. “Ohhhh, you mean the ‘ _ Nobody _ ’ rumor, right?”

“Nobody?”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard it was called since no one can ever see what it looks like. From what I’ve heard, all people see is a swirling darkness, then it’s lights out.” The larger man leaned in slowly towards his friend, his fingers moving like the legs of a spider as he adopted a more sinister tone. “Rumor has it that it’s the lost soul of a guy who was murdered by some muggers in an alleyway in West City. Now, his angry ghost scours the streets, searching for his killers and attacking any crook unfortunate enough to stumble upon his path...!”

Michael felt a shiver run down his spine, his old fears all reaffirmed as his eyes grew wide with terror.

Immediately, Hector broke out into a quiet laughter, slugging a playful punch into Michael’s bicep. “Nah, man, I’m just fucking with you. Yeah, I’ve heard the rumors too, but it’s not like any of that is  _ real _ . Probably just something the police are trying to spread around to keep wimpy guys like  _ you  _ from trying anything.”

“You sure? From what I’ve heard, it sounds pretty real.”

Hector rolled his eyes. “C’mon man, think realistically. What’s more likely, a struggling police force desperately trying to flood the streets with creepy rumors, or an  _ actual  _ ghost terrorizing West City? Besides, why would a  _ ghost  _ target  _ criminals  _ of all people? You ever heard of a ghost with a moral code? In the movies they would always be killing innocent people who happened to move into their old home n’ shit.”

“...Yeah, you’re probably right.” Michael admitted, letting out a low, nervous laugh. “I’m just being paranoid.”

“ _ And  _ a pussy.” Hector smirked. 

“Y’know, I’m beginning to regret  _ not  _ shooting you a minute ago.”

Suddenly, their radios burst to life, Jay’s voice on the other end. 

“_BZZT- Hector, get your fat ass in here, there’s more to carry than I thought there’d be.-BZZT” __  
_ “I guess that’s your cue, _fatass_.” Michael repeated with a grin.

Hector shot him one last dirty look, then got out of the van and disappeared into the dark jewelry shop. 

Feeling slightly less anxious than he had before, Michael returned to watching the road, his gaze carefully inspecting ahead before glimpsing into his side-view mirror for the umpteenth time. 

He blinked, remembering that he’d thought he’d spotted something just above one of the lamp posts a ways back. His eyes immediately found that spot again. Squinting, he realized that there was nothing actually there. 

_ Hector’s right. It’s all in my head.  _

He stared forward once more, before frowning as he noticed something odd. Down the road, a ways ahead, one of the lamp posts had suddenly gone out. 

_ Shitty city can’t even afford proper lights anymore. _

He scoffed, shaking his head. Whatever, it wasn’t like that a broken lamp post meant anything, just some old lightbulb-

He went rigid as the next light in line died too.

On edge again, the thief swallowed, slowly raising the radio to his mouth as he dared not even  _ blink _ . He suddenly jumped as yet  _ another  _ light went out.

His thumb jammed down on the button. “Guys, it’s time to go.  **Now** .”

The response was immediate. “_BZZT-What’s going on? You got cops?-BZZT” _Jay asked, a hitch if fear in his voice.   
Michael swallowed, his body trembling as he stared at the dark stretch of road he’d been able to see clearly moments ago. What did he tell them? That some lights just went out _suspiciously?_

“Just get out here, guys. Something’s not right.” He couldn’t help the tremble in his voice as he spoke. 

_ Another  _ light went out.

“ _ BZZT- Is this just you pissing yourself over that ghost rumor getting to your head?-BZZT”  _ He heard Hector ask. He could  _ hear  _ his incredulous  _ smirk  _ over the radio.

Michael growled, “Just fucking get out here guys! I’m being serious!”

He could hear the faintest sounds of laughter from the back of the shop.

“ _ BZZT- Chill, alright? We’ll be out in five minutes. Just getting everything loaded to go.-BZZT” _

“Damn it!” He hissed as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he stared  _ terrified  _ at the road ahead. A part of him wanted to start the van now, not risk whatever was out there, and peel out, leaving his friends behind. Sure, he appreciated them—he was here for them, wasn’t he—but that didn’t mean he was about to  _ risk his life _ for them, either. Another part of him was sure he was being childish. Sure, some lamp posts had gone out, but that didn’t necessarily mean that there was anything to worry about.

_ Right? _

Michael let a sharp breath of air spill out of him as yet  _ another  _ lamp post abruptly went out. There were only a few more lamps separating him from complete and utter darkness.

_ Fuck this. _

He could feel in his gut that something was wrong, and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to stick around to find out. His fingers immediately turned the key before the van’s engine roared to life. He shifted the gear into reverse, slamming his foot on the gas pedal as he suddenly shot backwards, his head turned to see out the back of the van. After building up some speed, he suddenly and violently twisted the wheel, shifting out of gear expertly as he spun, retaining his speed as he righted himself. He’d certainly been chosen to be the getaway driver for a _reason_._  
_ He pushed the pedal down to the floor, the Van revving loudly as it struggled to accommodate his orders. He glanced out of his rear view mirror, seeing both of his partners racing out of the store moments later, their arms thrown up in the air as they watched him speed down the road. 

“ _ BZZT- Michael! What the actual  _ ** _fuck _ ** _ are you doing right now? Get back here-” _

Then, he watched as the final few lights leading up to his _friends_ all went _dark_.  
“_...What the fuck…?” _He could finally hear _concern _creeping into Jay’s voice.

He could no longer see their figures as they were completely shrouded in darkness, but he could imagine that they were likely looking around,  _ confused  _ at having their source of light suddenly extinguished.

A moment later, it was drowned out by their  _ screams,  _ followed by frantic gunfire. The radio went dead, and the distant sounds of terrified men reached his ears before they were silenced, too.

“F-fuck!” He stammered, realizing that he’d  _ definitely  _ made the right call as he turned sharply to the left, hoping that he’d managed to put enough distance between himself and  _ whatever  _ had just gotten hold of his friends. He zigzagged down the streets, taking random, sharp turns in an attempt to ensure that he couldn’t be followed. Finally, he turned onto a main road, cars zooming past him as he merged onto traffic. A second later, he pulled off the ski mask and tossed it to the passenger seat as he tried to slow his breathing down. He was trembling as he forced himself to follow the speed limits, his eyes brimming with tears as he realized he’d just left his friends for…  _ whatever  _ that had been. He felt guilty, but at the same time, he knew that all he could have accomplished by staying was to be another victim.

_ I  _ ** _warned _ ** _ them. _

He reminded himself, trying to push down the nearly overwhelming sense of guilt.

_ I warned them and they didn’t listen. _

He could hear his heart as it pounded against his chest. 

Michael turned off the road some time later, feeling safe as he began to make his way back home. He’d shaken it, whatever it had been. 

Then, he heard a peculiar  ** _knock _ ** on the passenger side window. 

His eyes shot open as he turned his head, his body trembling as he saw  _ it _ .

A mass of swirling  _ darkness  _ hovering just outside. 

_ N-no way- _

Suddenly, the glass exploded inward, showering him in cuts as he pulled his hands up to cover his face from the shards.  
A moment later, he saw the darkness rush towards him.   
  


- _ The Next Morning- _

Eighteen hummed quietly to herself as she sat patiently, having found a smooth, round boulder to rest atop as she awaited Gohan’s arrival. She’d chosen to come earlier, the massive stretch of woods awaiting behind her. 

She couldn’t help but think about the night prior, _congratulating _herself on a job well done. It had been a spur of the moment idea to start busting the lights out towards the car, but she found it had worked out _excellently _in execution. She’d been able to feel his nervousness increase with each bulb, his energy growing erratic and panicked as she drew closer.   
In fact, it had been the man’s initial nervousness that had lured her towards their little heist in the first place. She doubted she would have noticed anything if there hadn’t been a beacon of _fear _leading her straight to them.

She grinned, recalling the terrified looks on their faces just before she’d slammed them straight into the wall. She’d left them alive, although she'd also left them beaten badly enough that she was sure they wouldn’t be _ thieving  _ again any time soon. Certainly not for several  _ years  _ at the very least. She’d even called the police on the location shortly after returning the driver to the scene of the crime, his body too smashed up to even attempt to flee. Even if she no longer  _ killed  _ the humans, that didn’t mean she didn’t still enjoy striking  _ fear  _ into their eyes. There was still a part of her that  _ relished  _ the feeling of being feared, of being seen as the god she still very much was in comparison to the weak. 

A finger idly played with a strand of black hair as she waited, the medium-length ponytail draped over her shoulder. A part of her felt that her recent comfort with  _ this  _ wig was because it was  _ nothing  _ compared to her most  _ recent  _ purchase. The concept had been simple, the result?  _ Extraordinary.  _

She’d needed a method to obscure her face. At first, she’d thought of purchasing a mask—something generic that wouldn’t get in her way. But then, she’d overheard some of the  _ rumors  _ spreading around. It appeared that whoever that man had been back at Joe’s corner store had definitely spread word of her arrival, although, it seemed that his tale had certainly gone through some  _ variations.  _

She smirked, recalling the absurd rendition she’d overheard from the two men in the van, her enhanced hearing allowing her to listen quite easily. Despite its ridiculous nature, she’d decided that, rather than pick up a mask and assume a  _ new  _ identity for the criminal underground to latch onto, she would try and play into the rumors she was  _ certain  _ were spreading rapidly across the city in light of her most recent attack.

They’d called her a swirling mass of darkness—less a person and more of a general shape, like an entity, like a _ghost_. She’d been forced to search out an old horror-themed shop in order to acquire a wig with hair long enough to fit the descriptions going around. The jet black wig fell so long that it reached past her thighs, completely obscuring her face and petite body within it’s dark tendrils. That, coupled with the rest of her attire—a pair of dark, form-fitting leggins with a long-sleeved top to match—meant that no one would be able to distinguish _anything _about her. At first, it’d been difficult to move around in her new outfit, the hair often getting in her way and tripping her as she tried to move about stealthily. Thankfully, her cybernetically enhanced mind rapidly made the necessary adjustments in order to ensure she didn’t make the same mistakes twice.   
Eighteen’s gaze shifted upward a moment later, her mind clearing of the previous night’s events as she felt a familiar set of power signatures coming her way.

_ About time. _

She stood before lifting into the air as she moved to meet them. A few seconds later, she could see the figures of Gohan and Trunks approaching. 

“Hi, Videl!” Trunks waved.   
Her lips curled into a subtle smile as she made a small wave back. She pushed her hands into the pockets of the coal-colored leather jacket she’d chosen to wear for the occasion, cropped short to show off her midriff. Beneath was a velvet shirt she thought matched nicely with the rest of the attire, a set of black shorts that she found emphasized the shape of her hips nicely, as well as a pair of combat boots she’d never had an occasion to wear. When she’d stepped in front of the mirror before leaving, she’d felt like she belonged in a biker gang.  
Although, she also knew the only _reason _she’d gone with this outfit was to make the set of sunglasses mounted to her face seem less suspicious. 

_ I still don’t know if he noticed my eyes that night… _

This had been her temporary solution to the matter until she could decide what she wanted to do. 

Her gaze shifted to Gohan’s as they closed the distance between each other. 

“Hey, Videl. I hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long.” He smiled pleasantly. 

She tried to detect any significant glances from the man, any indication that he was trying to investigate her eyes for any reason. Thankfully, she found no such look. 

“No, I left early because I thought I’d have trouble finding the place.” She lied. “I wasn’t waiting long.”

“Whoa!” Trunks exclaimed, his eyebrows rising as he motioned to her jacket. “Cool outfit! Where’d you get the jacket?”

She sent an appreciative smile towards the boy. “Thanks, I got it from a little shop in South City. I’ll have to show you some time.” 

_ Someone  _ ** _seriously _ ** _ needs to teach that kid about style. _

He’d chosen some simple grey sweatpants that paired  _ terribly  _ with the white and blue long sleeve Capsule Corp. shirt he seemed to so often wear. She supposed that the teen likely didn’t have someone to teach him about clothes, considering Gohan wore the same orange and blue fighting gi almost every time she saw him, including now, and she doubted the strung out looking Bulma Briefs cared much for fashion either. 

“Sweet, I definitely want one like yours.” He paused, frowning. “Uh, but, for like—a guy.”

Gohan let out a laugh, shaking his head. “Well, before Trunks starts trying on women’s clothing, maybe we should get a move on?” He grinned as the teen shot him a dirty look. 

“Speaking of which…” Eighteen shifted, turning her back to them and pointing to the small backpack she’d stuffed a change of clothes and water bottle into as per requested. “Why do I need this stuff? And why are you guys also carrying packs?” She’d noticed the brown straps on each of their shoulders, although Gohan was only using one loop. 

She’d had to hide a frown when she’d noticed that. 

“Well, for today’s lesson, I thought it would be nice to train surrounded by nature.”

“Uh,” She raised a brow. “Can I ask  _ why?” _

What was wrong with their typical training grounds?  
“It’s a tradition!” Trunks exclaimed suddenly, clearly excited. 

“Tradition?” She repeated, frowning. A tradition to train in some dingy woods? 

“It’s not a ‘tradition’ like Trunks says, or…at least, not exactly.” Gohan began to explain. “When I was just starting out as a fighter, my own master left me out in the wilderness to toughen me up. I told Trunks about it and well, he’s sorta turned it into this ‘initiation' process, I guess.”

“Hey!” The teen called out, upset he’d been outed so openly. 

Eighteen let out a short laugh as Gohan continued. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to leave you out in the woods to fend for yourself. I figured camping out for a night would suffice.” He paused, his eyes widening as if only  _ just  _ realizing something. “Of course, you don’t  _ have  _ to stay overnight if you don’t want to. I brought an extra tent, but I know I didn’t exactly warn you ahead of time.” His arm reached to scratch the back of his head, an embarrassed smile on his lips. “Sorry about that. I guess I wasn’t really thinking!”

Eighteen slowly nodded. Camping had never been very appealing to her, although she  _ had  _ been on several trips due to Seventeen’s appreciation of the outdoors when they’d been younger. 

She supposed spending just  _ one  _ night out under the stars couldn’t hurt. 

“Well, that certainly clears things up.” Placing her hands on her hips, she shot the man an expectant, teasing look. “Lead the way,  _ master _ .”

  
  


It had taken them less than a half-hour to find an appropriate spot to set down. She figured they could have arrived sooner, but Gohan and Trunks had slowed down significantly. For her sake, she figured. 

The trio set down at the center of a small clearing where the trees weren’t too plentiful and the grass not too high. Upon touching down, the Android immediately noticed a firepit already dug out, old ashes within from past flames. 

_ Looks like they’ve been here before… _

She examined as the teen and Gohan each set down their packs. She followed suit as Gohan turned to Trunks.

“Go find some firewood for tonight, okay?” 

The teen frowned, clearly disappointed. “Aww, but I wanted to go look for the dinosaur.”

“There will be plenty of time for that afterwards. Now, go on. I’ve got to start the lesson with Videl.”

She watched with a raised eyebrow as the boy turned and disappeared into the thicket. “He won’t be joining us?”

Gohan smiled, shaking his head. “He’s already learned this. I need to catch you up before the two of you can start learning together.”

_ Oh. That makes sense, I guess. _

It was odd for her to acknowledge it. Despite their clear gap in strength, Trunks likely  _ did  _ know more about Ki control than she did.

“So, for today’s lesson, you’ll be learning how to harness your Ki into a defensive or offensive force around your body.” He raised a finger, meeting her gaze with a serious expression. “This is the most crucial piece of knowledge to know in a fight. If you’re ever in danger, this technique  _ will  _ save your life, so listen closely, okay?”

Eighteen nodded, the back of her mind acknowledging how much it felt like she was back in highschool again. For a moment, she tried to picture Gohan as a teacher, or perhaps a college professor. She realized that she could form the image quite easily. She imagined he might have been one of the teachers she  _ actually  _ listened to. If only just to look at him.

“Now, the human body is pretty frail, normally. A fall from just five feet is enough to break just about any part of your body if you land the wrong way. This is where Ki comes in to change that. Now, you know how you wrap yourself in your own energy in order to fly?”

She nodded, silently feeling her prior excitement melting as she realized she was being taught how to do something her body already did naturally.

“The same occurs when fighting, the only  _ difference  _ is that you have to concentrate your power to the specific body part you want protected.”

She raised an eyebrow at this new piece of information.

“For example...” He turned, moving to a nearby boulder before continuing. “Obviously, rocks are typically stronger than hands. What I’m doing when I strike is I’m rapidly concentrating my Ki into my fist, strengthening it so that it’s strong enough to break through the stone.” His fist suddenly shot out, snapping the rock in two with a violent  _ crack _ . “Ki is versatile. You can use it to strengthen your limbs to attack and block or make yourself fast enough to dodge out of the way. It’s up to your judgement to decide what fits you best in any given situation.”

She frowned. That didn’t  _ seem  _ right. Her entire body was constantly surrounded by her energy—protecting her, strengthening her. “Wait, you only push your energy to  _ certain  _ parts of your body when you fight? I thought that it was always surrounding you. Isn’t that what’s happening when your Ki spikes?” Did Gohan’s energy not work like hers did?

The man made a side to side motion with his hand. “Yes and no. When I’m in a fight, I  _ do  _ raise my Ki level, and that does make my body stronger to an  _ extent _ . However, I’m not throttling  _ all  _ of my Ki out when I do. You see, you  _ can  _ push your energy to protect your entire body if you  _ really  _ have to. However, that takes a lot of energy to do and would drain your reserves rapidly if you left your Ki on like that all the time. It’s far better to position your energy where you need it,  _ when  _ you need it. Unfortunately, that also means that if you’re not paying attention or get caught off guard, you can raise your defenses too late, and well...” His hand gestured to the left side of his torso. “I’m sure you can see what I mean.”

Eighteen slowly nodded, her gaze shifting away in guilt. Suddenly, she was even more grateful that he couldn’t see her eyes. 

The man paused, his stare casting across the ground before he leaned over and picked up a smooth, round stone and offered it to her. “Here, I want you to practice with this rock. Try to reinforce your hand and shatter it.”

She hesitated for only a moment before reaching out and accepted the stone. She frowned, staring down at it. Should she break it right away? Or should she struggle for a little bit to seem convincing? How difficult was this for someone  _ normally _ ?

She decided to play it safe. She tensed her fingers around the rock, making sure to appear that she was struggling before looking up, ‘distraught’.  
“That’s okay, it’s hard the first time you try.” He smiled reassuringly. “Try to focus on the muscles in your arm. Imagine your arm is a flowing river and the rock is a dam. Now, the Ki you have is the water you need to add to that river to make it strong enough to push through. I know you have the power, your flight skills tell me that much. You just need to direct it.”

Eighteen nodded before redirecting her attention to the stone. She considered snapping it in two now, showing him that his direction had been enough, before another thought occurred to her.

_ What if...I  _ ** _actually _ ** _ try this? _

Her mind pulled back to that little piece of herself she’d encountered during her first flight lesson. It had been small, and it had been weak, but it was  _ hers _ .

“...”

Her brow furrowed, her lips tightening in concentration as she searched within, looking for the piece of her that Dr. Gero had  _ not  _ touched. It took her some time, but now that she knew it was there, it was impossible for her to lose it. Looking within herself, she could see it: Her Ki, her  _ essence, hiding  _ behind the mass of energy provided by her augmentation. 

_ ...Why does it seem...bigger? _

It had appeared smaller the last time she’d searched it out. She was certain of it. It wasn’t as if the change was massive. The source was still quite  _ pitiful  _ compared to what she truly had to offer, but it had  _ definitely  _ grown since the last time she’d used it.

_ Interesting… _

She thought to herself as she quickly reached out, latching onto the small pool of power before forcing it to move through her body. It felt..._strange_. She realized quickly that she’d never _actually _used her own power before. The only time she’d even interacted with it was to give it to Trunks that one time.  
It was completely unlike what she was used to. 

It felt  _ alive  _ as it washed over her skin and arm, fueling the limb with power as her grip tightened around the stone. Much to her surprise, the rock remained whole within her palm. She found that Gohan’s words were helpful, but controlling her energy  _ without  _ Dr. Gero’s programming naturally doing it for her was difficult. It was as if the life source didn’t know exactly what to do, its chaotic nature spilling out and wasting away within the air itself.

She growled, her face twisting into a frustrated snarl as she redoubled her efforts. 

_ C’mon, stupid rock, break already! _

She could feel the pitiful pool of energy beginning to drain rapidly. She knew that it wouldn’t be long until it was completely tapped. A part of her felt that this was a pointless endeavor, that she was making this needlessly hard for herself.

Another part of herself wanted to double, triple, and  _ quadruple  _ down. Her eyes snapped shut, gritting her teeth, she forced her energy to cooperate with her. A moment later, she could sense the energy drawing to a refined point as she began to collect it, the Ki coalescing around her fingers before-

“ ** _CRACK!_ ** ”

The noise made her jump in surprise, her eyes snapping open in bewilderment. 

She looked down at her now opened hand. Each half of the rock rolled away from the other, balancing on their new axis within her open palm.

Her eyes grew wide with astonishment.

“I did it!” She exclaimed, looking back at Gohan with an excited smile. Immediately, she could tell that something was wrong.

_ Did he not expect me to succeed? _

His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape as he stared back at her with a look of seeming  _ bewilderment _ .

A moment later, his face relaxed as he flashed her a supportive smile. “Well done! I knew you could do it. Now, let’s take a break. I can sense Trunks getting back with the fire wood.” The man turned on his heel, moving towards the form of Trunks stepping out of the tree line holding a  _ massive  _ pile of sticks standing taller than his head. 

She watched her teacher as he walked away, her brow furrowed in confusion.

_ What was that look about? _

_ -Gohan- _

As he stepped away from Videl, he rapidly replayed the last several seconds in his mind. It had only been a moment, a flash that occurred  _ right  _ when the stone had broken. It had been gone in an instant, but it had been unmistakably  _ there _ .

_ Did I just sense Videl’s Ki? _

  
  


_ -One Hour later- _

After the fire had been properly started, and Videl showed Trunks her new trick, the group had agreed to set up their tents before the sun started to fall too low. Gohan had struggled to set up his own. The simple frame repeatedly collapsed as he attempted to put them in place with one hand, until finally Trunks noticed and moved to help him. 

Gohan had been grateful for the assistance.

Finally, the three shelters were up, and the trio had positioned themselves around the fire, each sitting atop their own log pulled over by the elder Saiyan. 

“So,” Videl began, “do you guys do this often?”

“Not too often.” Gohan answered. “We’ve camped here a handful of times. Although, I never like pulling myself too far away from the big cities, because…” He trailed off, not wanting to bring down the mood by mentioning the Androids. This had been his _treat _to Trunks, a get away from the ruined cities and destroyed lives that so regularly occupied their day-to-day lives. The teen had always seemed so excited to go camping in the past, but he’d never been able to fully commit to the experience, constantly pausing to check up on the cardinal cities, ensuring another attack wasn’t on its way. Now that the Androids had gone into hiding, he felt he could _finally _give his young friend the attention he deserved.   
“Because of work.” He lied.

_ Can I consider the Androids a ‘job’? It's my 'job’ to stop them, right? _

He supposed that wasn’t  _ entirely  _ inaccurate. He stole a glance towards Trunks, trying to see if the boy had caught onto his deception. If he had, he certainly hadn’t shown it. Quickly directing his gaze back towards the fire, he caught a glimpse of Videl in his peripherals, looking down and frowning at his comment.

** _She _ ** _ definitely caught on _ .

He supposed he wasn’t the  _ best  _ liar.

The air between them grew silent, the only noises coming from the sharp crackling of the fire between them.

“Anyway!” He exclaimed in a cheerful tone, hoping to raise the morale of the group. The young man pushed himself to his feet before resting his hand on his hip, looking between the two of them expectantly. “Let’s get back to it. Videl, are you feeling rested?”

His new pupil shot him a curious look, an eyebrow arching behind her sunglasses before she rose. “Sure, what’s next?”

“Well, I thought it would be interesting if Trunks got to train against a partner with  _ both  _ their arms.” He grinned, trying to make light of his injury, although his comment was also very  _ true _ . He knew Trunks was developing bad habits from sparring solely with him, learning to leave his right side unprotected at times since he didn’t have to worry about a left hook any time soon.

Trunks shot him a confused look, his brows furrowing. “What? But she’s only  _ just  _ learned how to use her Ki.”

“I’m not expecting you to go  _ all out _ right now, Trunks. This is as much an exercise for Videl as it is for you. I want you to show restraint and focus on form rather than power. No flying or Ki blasts, either. This match will rely on footwork and proper technique this time around.” He turned his attention towards Videl. “I want you to focus on pushing and moving your Ki to block and protect from his attacks. It’ll be tricky at first, but I know you can do it.”

The teen slowly rose to his feet, frowning as he shot a concerned look towards Gohan before looking to Videl. “Are you up for this?”

Her hands fell on her hips, a confident smirk pulling at her lips a moment later. “What? You nervous I’m gonna wipe the floor with you in front of your teacher?”

Gohan couldn’t stop the laugh that came out. He grinned, appreciating her tenacity despite knowing that she was clearly the weaker of the two. 

Trunks grumbled before walking away from the fire, standing within the short field adjacent to their campsite and turning back towards them. “Fine, let’s do this.” He dropped into his stance, one that was _slightly _modified from the one he’d taught the boy, but nonetheless a strong, defensive fighting stance.  
Videl calmly followed after him, moving out into the field before Gohan called out. “Um, Videl?”

“Hm?” She responded, turning her head back towards him.

_ Time to finally check. _

“Your sunglasses. It’s probably better you take them off before you start. Otherwise, they might get broken.” He offered out a hand to hold them for her.

He’d planned this fight to test Videl and teach Trunks,  _ certainly.  _ But, he’d also wanted to check something that he’d noticed on the night Videl had encountered him in the desert. 

_ What color are your eyes  _ ** _now_ ** _ ? _

He watched her pause for a moment, surprised by his comment. “Oh, right.” She finally said before removing the shades and handing them to him. His gaze never left her irises. 

_ Black again… _

So, what had he seen that night in the desert? Why had they been so...blue? He began to doubt his own memory as he reflected. Was it possible that he’d simply seen it wrong? A trick of the light? It had been dark, could that have had some affect on his vision?

_ Why does this matter? It’s only her eye color. It’s not like that’s important. _

He knew it was a very  _ slight  _ oddity, but something inside him...felt like it  _ did  _ matter.

The demi-Saiyan decided to squash the thought, ridding it from his mind for the time being as he focused on the fight ahead.

He watched as Videl turned away, walking confidently towards his first pupil before raising her arms, assuming the same stance he’d seen her adopt before in the desert. Much like last time, she bounced on the balls of her booted feet, moving side to side like a boxer would.

_ This should be interesting… _

He watched she began to slowly close the distance between them, moving cautiously as Trunks eyed her. The younger boy then threw a  _ painfully  _ slow punch towards Videl’s head. 

Gohan resisted the urge to bury his face into his hand.

_C’mon, Trunks, I didn’t mean go _**_that _**_easy on her!__  
_ Then, something _unexpected _happened. Videl turned, her back facing her opponent as the punch sailed over her shoulder. Her arms wrapped around the limb an instant later, her body shifted forward as her opponent lurched, his eyes growing wide as he was suddenly _airborne_. Trunks was hurled over the petite woman, before his back slammed against the grass with a hard _thud_. Videl’s grip on his hand released before she hopped several steps back.

“C’mon, Trunks, you’re going to have to try harder than  _ that _ .” She taunted, a smug grin on her lips as she watched the teen scramble to his feet.

A bright red blush stained his cheeks as he shot the woman a dirty look.

“Fine, then.” He responded coldly, his eyes now filled with a flustered determination. This time, it was Trunks who closed the distance between them.

Gohan noticed the boy’s Ki  _ rise _ .

** _Easy_ ** _ , Trunks. _

He knew that the teen likely didn’t know it  _ yet _ , but if he wasn’t careful he could easily  _ kill  _ someone of Videl’s level, if not significantly mame them. 

_ I’ll have to step in if his Ki grows too much… _

He mentally noted as he quietly watched the fight continue.

Trunks shot out a jab that whistled as it split the air, narrowly avoided by Videl as she stepped to his right, moving out of his range as the teen threw out another punch, but struck nothing but air. 

The teen gave chase, darting forward and driving a knee into her midsection, stopped at the last second by Videl’s crossed forearms in a hasty defense.

_ Good. _

Gohan could tell that attack had come with a little bit of extra force in it. He knew that if she’d not channeled her Ki into her arms, she would have been knocked to the ground.

Videl responded quickly, pushing the knee to the side before throwing out a right hook only  _ just  _ blocked by Trunks’ ready hand. Her left fist shot out two more jabs, the first missing entirely as he stepped to the side, the second realigning and grazing his cheek as he did his best to dodge.

Gohan grinned. He could tell the teen wasn’t used to fighting someone equipped with a left hand yet. 

Then he felt the boy’s Ki rise  _ again _ . His grin slipped away. 

_ He’s starting to get serious... _

He watched as Trunks spun, whipping around with a right elbow that just barely missed Videl’s head as she crouched below it, before immediately following it up with a left hook that moved too fast for the woman to respond. Videl grimaced, her head snapping to the side as she staggered back several feet.

The elder Saiyan felt his body tense as he watched the attack land. His immediate instinct was to chastise the boy for not taking it easier on his relatively _novice _opponent, but he caught himself before he did.   
He could hear his old master, Piccolo’s words in his head.

“ _ You don’t get stronger by being coddled. You get stronger by being  _ ** _pushed_ ** _ .” _

Trunks was pushing her—he needed to remind himself of that. It had been his entire reasoning for throwing Videl into a fight after learning about Ki control barely an  _ hour  _ ago. Sometimes, throwing someone into the deep end is the most effective route. Piccolo had been sure to hammer that lesson into him at a  _ very  _ young age.

_ Relax, Gohan. This is just a part of training. _

“That hurt.” The woman commented, her hand massaging her cheek before she raised her fists, signalling that she was ready again. “I’ll have to get you back for that one.” She grinned.

“I told you you’d have a rough time, didn’t I?” Trunks responded, grinning back confidently as he began to move towards her.

Gohan’s eyebrow rose. He didn’t remember the two ever having that conversation. Had they talked at some point since their last training session? He’d have to ask.

The two shot towards each other in a burst of speed. Trunks led with a straight kick meant for her chest, and Videl pulled her arms up at the last second, stopping the attack and pushing him off balance as she dropped low, sweeping out with a kick to knock out his remaining leg. Trunks responded by moving with his backwards momentum, flipping away with a back handspring before immediately charging forward again, his fist cocked back and ready. 

Gohan watched,  _ impressed  _ with Videl’s performance as the two engaged once more, each attempting to gain an edge as they traded blows. It was clear that Trunks had the upper hand. He was definitely landing more hits than he was taking since he’d raised his Ki, but that wasn’t to say that Videl wasn’t holding her own. Gohan watched her movements closely, her milky white thighs shifting as she darted out of the way of a sweeping kick. The motion caused her shirt to catch the wind, revealing her toned and unblemished midriff.

_ Hmm… _

He found his eyes beginning to wander. The hop of her step caused her chest to bounce beneath the tight shirt. Her hips, cupped by the cute shorts she’d decided to wear, pulled his attention away from the fight as his head began to slowly cock to the side. His eyes lingered on the round, plump shape of her-

Immediately, his head straightened, his eyes snapping open wide as he tried to hide a blush.

_ Focus, Gohan! You’re supposed to be paying attention to the  _ ** _fight_ ** _ ! _

The young man forced his eyes to study their  _ form _ , rather than...other things.

The petite woman was retreating where she could, creating space and forcing her opponent to come to her.

It was a smart strategy. Wearing down her opponent by making them use their energy to try and catch her. The only problem was, Gohan could tell the match was drawing close to its end.

Trunks moved in close, driving into her guard as he slipped past a desperate jab attempting to push him away. He rose, feinting an uppercut as Videl responded appropriately, raising her guard to stop the attack. Before she could respond, the boy shifted, twisting his body into a spinning heel kick that landed centered in his opponent’s stomach. Gohan could hear the air wheeze out of her as the attack connected, sending her flying back and into the now flattened grass.

“Alright!” His voice boomed, turning the teen’s head towards him. “That’s enough.”

The grass crunched beneath his feet as he moved to where Videl was lying, her arms sprawled out in opposite directions as her widened eyes stared up towards the clear blue sky. He could see her breathing heavily from the exchange, although he couldn’t see any visible bruising anywhere. 

_ Good. She managed to push her Ki to defend herself at the last second. _

He offered out a hand, which his friend slowly took before being pulled back to her feet. 

“You did well for your first fight. I was very impressed.” He complimented, before returning the pair of shades to her.

“Yeah! I never knew you could fight like that.” Trunks commented with a bright smile as he walked over, offering out a hand. “Good fight! We should do it again some time.”

Videl’s eyes stared at the extended hand for a few seconds before a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Thanks.” She accepted the handshake. “We definitely will—and next time,  _ I’ll  _ be the one laying  _ you  _ out in the grass.”

_ -Eighteen- _

Fighting had never been especially appealing to the Android. Sure, the programs and hardware installed by Dr. Gero had given her all the strength, speed and knowledge she needed to outmatch any martial artist, but being  _ good  _ at something wasn’t always the same as  _ enjoying  _ it. 

Despite this, as the trio began to make their way back to their camp, she couldn’t help but feel… _ excited  _ at the prospect of challenging the young man again. 

_ That was… actually pretty  _ ** _fun_ ** _ . _

It’d been an interesting engagement. Having Dr.Gero’s programming instantly tell her the most optimal route to stop and retaliate against Trunks’ strikes, only to actively  _ ignore  _ them and allow herself to take hits that normally would never touch her. Not only that, but the fight had felt different than anything she’d ever experienced before. It wasn’t a battle of blood, where the ultimate objective was to  _ kill  _ her target, as her engagements with Gohan had so often been. It had been a friendly, good natured spar with no stakes to speak of. It had felt like a pickup game of basketball—like a fun sport where each side was trying to test the other’s game.

She supposed the only difference was that, making a mistake in  _ this  _ sport meant you were getting a punch to the nose. But it wasn’t like his attacks actually  _ hurt  _ her, so all she had to do was  _ act  _ like they did. She’d thrown the match knowing that it would be suspicious if she’d beaten the boy after just one lesson. However, she could also tell that the fight had meant a lot more to Trunks than it had to her. Looking over, she could see that the little guy was walking with an iota of pride in his step, looking up at Gohan, who was commenting on his technique and praising him for his strategy, while also giving him tips on how to improve next time. 

_ I gave him a chance to prove himself. _

Eighteen smiled. She realized that the young man had likely not gotten many chances to show Gohan that his teachings weren’t being wasted. Considering the fact that she was apparently Gohan’s second  _ ever  _ student, it was likely the teen hadn’t ever really fought anyone else..

Her eyes widened, feet coming to a halt behind the two fighters as she came to a sudden realization.

Gohan paused, turning to look back at her as she stopped. “Hm? Something the matter?”

It took a moment for Eighteen to shake off her stunned stupor before she shook her head, immediately falling back in step. “No, sorry, just remembered something a, uh... _ friend _ told me once.”

“Yeah?” Gohan asked, displaying a polite interest. “What was that?”

Her gaze fell slightly as she dredged up the memory.

“...He was talking about something different, but he told me once that he’d once  _ wanted  _ to lose a fight, that he’d have been more happy to lose.” She frowned at the memory. “I hadn’t understood at the time. It’s not the same, but I get that now...being  _ happy  _ about losing.”

“That’s a good outlook to have, I think. I mean, everyone has to start somewhere, right?”

Eighteen’s head snapped up, her eyes meeting Gohan’s as she registered his words.

_ ...Everyone has to start somewhere… _

She knew that the young man was only referring to her being ‘new’ and learning how to fight. He thought that she meant that she was happy about learning, which a part of her was. However, as she walked alongside him, a man that only a few months ago she wouldn’t have thought twice about  _ slaughtering _ before she started down this new path, she found that the old saying meant more to her than it ever had.

She smiled back. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Guys! I’m getting hungry! Can we start looking for food, already?” Trunks’ voice called out from the camp, having pulled ahead of the two.

_ Wait,  _ ** _looking _ ** _ for food? _

She frowned, looking to Gohan as she asked. “You guys didn’t bring food with you?” While she knew  _ she  _ didn’t need food to survive, the concept of going camping  _ without  _ something to eat sounded absurd to her!

“Well…” Gohan flashed an embarrassed smile, his hand instinctively reaching to rub the back of his head. “That’s sorta part of the training.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a part of  _ tradition _ !” Trunks corrected excitedly as they reached the camp. “Gohan’s old master had him do the same thing when he was just starting out. He had to fend for himself, so  _ we  _ have to do the same.”

Gohan leaned over, whispering into her ear as he elaborated. “It’s a rule Trunks likes. I tried to bring food one time and he wouldn’t accept it when he found out  _ that’s  _ how my original training went.” He shook his head, chuckling as he pulled back. “Now, it’s just sorta how we do things. Don’t worry, I’ll find something for you if you need me to.”

“Hey!” Trunks interjected, his hands on his hips in an annoyed expression. “Videl is a new student just like I was—er—am. She should get the same treatment you and I did!” He crossed his arms, nodding as if his word was final.

Gohan rolled his eyes, his lips curled into an amused smile as he said. “And who put  _ you  _ in charge? I thought  _ I  _ was the ‘master’ here.” 

The boy’s confident demeanor immediately faltered. “I—uh, well, I just thought-”

“No, I like it. I think it’s a good rule.” She suddenly added. It wasn’t like it mattered for her considering she quite literally didn’t have to  _ eat _ . If this made her an official ‘student’ in Trunks’ eyes, she couldn’t see the harm in it. “So, do we all go out hunting or…?”

“Well, we all have to…” The teen paused, his eyes flashing to Gohan for confirmation to continue.

Gohan sighed, smiling like a parent would with an overenthusiastic son. He motioned to continue. “Go ahead. You’re the one enforcing this rule, after all.”

Trunks nodded, the smile returning to his face. “So, we all have to go out and find whatever we can and bring it back to camp for the night. No pairing up! We only eat what we catch. No exceptions!” He proclaimed, his hands on his hips, clearly pleased with his ruling.

“We’ll meet back up at sundown.” Gohan commanded, looking at Trunks. “Also, I recommend flying over the tree line when you look.” He added, turning to Videl. “These woods have a lot of dangerous predators, and for someone who’s still new to Ki, it may be dangerous for you to explore at ground level.” 

She smiled, finding his concern for her well being  _ cute _ . “I think I’ll be fine.”   
  


_ -One Hour later- _

She could see the sun growing ever-closer to setting as she calmly walked through the dense forest, the leaves rustling as the wind picked up, creating a low howl as it passed between the trees.

She hadn’t found anything edible aside from some dark-colored berries that she wasn’t sure she trusted. Although she wasn’t certain she physically  _ could  _ be poisoned, that wasn’t something she planned to test any time soon. 

Her feet continued to crunch through the untamed grass as something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Squinting, her enhanced vision could just  _ barely  _ make out the rough shape of a relatively small, brown, log cabin.

Curious, the woman decided to see if anyone still lived inside. She floated off the ground, moving swiftly through the trees as she approached. Eventually, she cleared the tree line, reaching a large stretch of flat land where the cabin was centered. She could see a laundry line hung up between two wooden posts just outside the structure. A few shirts had been clipped to the wire, with a small basket full of clothes sitting next to it. Moving closer, her nose caught the musty smell of mildew from the basket. The clothes inside were half-covered with dead leaves, packed down and stuck together by rainfall.

She frowned when she noticed another pile of clothes sitting only a few feet from the basket. She could tell just by looking that they had once belonged to a small child. 

_ Odd _ .

Turning her head, she saw another, slightly larger pile of clothes sitting only a handful of feet away, clearly having once belonged to a young girl judging by the frilly, bright pink shirt.

Eighteen frowned when she saw a large dried  _ blood stain  _ married the shirt, with a hole punched through the middle.

“...” 

The wind grew silent, the air around her feeling almost sinister, as she began to sense that something very  _ wrong  _ had happened here.

She turned her attention towards the cabin, noticing that the door had been torn off its hinges some time ago. A part of her wanted to investigate further, to enter the cabin and see what was waiting for her within.

Another part of her was screaming at her to run. Her nerves were telling her that whatever this was, was  _ definitely  _ not her business.

Her eyes scanned the cabin, searching for any signs of life inside. A second later, she allowed her senses to pulse out, searching for any life energy as well. As far as she could tell, there was  _ nothing _ .

“...”  
_Not today._

Without another word, the Android turned and took to the air, flying away faster than she needed to. Any other day, she might have investigated the creepy looking home, but today? Today she was spending time with Gohan and Trunks, and she didn’t want to ruin it by uncovering what her gut was telling her were likely  _ dead bodies  _ within. If she did, what would she do? Tell Gohan and ruin their trip out into the woods? Trunks was clearly enjoying himself. She didn’t want to ruin it for the boy.

_ Maybe another time. _

She continued to fly, her thoughts clouded with what could have been lurking within those wooden walls. She didn’t know why that had bothered her so much. 

“Hey! Videl!” 

Eighteen flinched as she heard the name call out from below. Turning, she caught sight of Trunks, who’d turned the hem of his shirt into a makeshift basket for a large pile of apples.

“Any luck?” He asked, smiling up at her.

She took a few moments to collect herself, shaking off the sinister feeling she’d encountered back at the cabin. “Nothing yet.” she answered honestly. 

She watched the boy frown, look to his massive stack of apples and then back to her. “If you want to help me carry some of these back, I’m willing to share!”

She smirked, amused by his generosity. “I thought you said ‘no pairing up’ and ‘no exceptions’.” She taunted as she landed beside him.

Trunks flashed an embarrassed smile. “Maybe I was a little too harsh. It’s starting to get dark, so it might be hard to find anything if you haven’t found something yet. Here-” He raised his shirt-basket a bit higher for her. “It’ll be our little secret.” he whispered.

Eighteen stared down at the pile of apples. She supposed he was right that it was starting to get late, and she definitely didn’t want to return with  _ nothing  _ to show Gohan. She’d been excelling at every task he’d presented her with so far, and she didn’t want to let him down  _ now _ .

“Alright, thanks.” She grabbed a small portion of the teen’s stash before falling in step beside him as the two began to make their way back towards the camp. 

“There’s a bunch of apple trees back there I know about.” He motioned with his head towards where he’d come from. “It’s where I usually go when we go out camping.”

“Smart.” She commented. “I can tell you really enjoy it.”

He nodded, a sad smile gracing his lips. “Yeah, we hadn’t been able to go much because Gohan was so worried about the Androids popping up again. I was really excited when he mentioned it to me the other day.”

“Hm.” She responded simply. She averted her gaze, choosing to study the dense foliage rather than the boy. The kid was smarter than he let on at times, having so easily seen through Gohan’s poorly made ‘work’ excuse back at the camp. Or perhaps he’d always known that was the reason, and never let Gohan know he knew. Whichever was the case, Eighteen could tell that he understood more about the world that Gohan thought he did.

The teen slowed to a stop beside her, his head turning to look out through the thick tree line.

“Y’know, we’re near a pretty cool spot if you want to check it out.”

She raised an eyebrow in interest. “Yeah?”  
He nodded, a smile slowly forming. “Yeah! C’mon, I’ll show you!”

She watched as the boy turned, moving over to a tree before depositing the apples at its base. “They should be fine here for awhile. We’ll be back before anything finds them.”

Eighteen nodded, following suit before the teen began to slowly lift into the air, lavender strands of hair fluttering in the cool breeze before he turned and blasted through the sky. Eighteen quickly followed after.

- _ Ten Minutes Later- _

She could see the sun beginning to slip behind the horizon as Trunks slowed to a stop, his eyes looking out towards the massive stretch of wasteland that appeared to go on for miles.

“We’re here.” He commented before allowing gravity to carry him to the ground.

Eighteen frowned as she followed suit, her head turning as her eyes slowly scanned the area. What made  _ this  _ place so special? As far as she could tell, it was just another massive wasteland filled with nothing but craggy cliffs and flat, grassy fields. 

She followed the boy as he moved forward, his feet crunching against the dry dirt as she noticed his jovial demeanor slowly bleed away. His face eased, his eyelids half-closed as his expression became more somber.

“What is this place?” She finally asked as he came to a stop, staring down at the dirt before them where she could see the ground had dipped in a trench that stretched out for a hundred feet. She could tell the formation was unnatural as she studied it.

“It’s called the Paprika wastelands by the locals. It’s also the place Gohan helped hold off the Saiyans before Goku got here.”

_ Saiyans? _

The term was foreign to her.

Eighteen blinked, before her eyes grew wide. Now that she was looking, she could _definitely _see evidence of a massive battle all around her. Spots where the earth had been cratered, places where the grass had been scorched away to the point that nothing could grow there anymore. She turned back to the massive indent in the ground before them. At first, she’d interpreted it as the start of a poorly crafted path to nowhere. But now, it looked more like the ruins of a _massive _energy attack that had cut through the earth as it barreled towards whatever opponent it had been aimed at. She knew what the level of power meant. Whoever these ‘Saiyans’ had been, they’d been a _serious _threat.  
“Oh,” she responded, not certain what she was supposed to say. “Gohan told you about this place?”

Trunks shook his head. “No, I found it on my own. I don’t think Gohan wanted me to know about this fight.” He stepped away, moving towards a large crater and staring down at it. 

“I’m not clear on all of the facts. There’s only so much you can dig up on a fight that happened over eighteen years ago.”

_ Eighteen years? _

Her brow furrowed at the number. If this fight had really happened that long ago, that would have put Gohan at age  _ five _ .

Her head snapped back towards the massive crater in the ground. She tried to imagine a  _ toddler _ dealing with whatever had managed to put  _ that  _ in the Earth. She could barely even recall when she’d been a five-year-old. It seemed like so long ago, now. She’d been busy dressing up the few dolls she’d been able to keep away from the other kids, and running around playing tag with her brother. She couldn’t imagine having to handle something like  _ this _ at that age.

“Why do you think Gohan didn’t want you to know about this place?” She asked, puzzled that the man would withhold something so... _ impressive  _ from his youth. Why  _ not  _ share something like that? 

She watched the boy pause, clearly choosing his answer carefully before he responded. “I don’t know, exactly.” She frowned. She could tell there was more there than he was telling her. “I do know some of the fighters that were a part of it though. Krillin, Piccolo-”

_ The Demon King? _

She raised an eyebrow at the name, but didn’t interrupt. So, he’d been fighting on their side since all the way back then?

“-Yamcha, Tien, and I  _ think  _ someone named  _ Chitzu?”  _ He frowned, his eyes narrowing as he shook his head. “I don’t know exactly, but I know a lot of them died in this fight. Gohan’s master fought here, too. They all struggled here to fend off the Saiyans before Goku arrived.”

She watched as the teen slowly walked over to a rock before sitting down, a disappointed expression consuming his face. “I wish I could have met them. I did as a baby, or, at least, that’s what my mom tells me. Now, I only know them from the pictures up on the wall at our house. From what I can tell, they were all heroes.”

Eighteen nodded. “Sounds like it.”

She knew the names too, although not personally. Dr. Gero’s files had listed them as allies of Son Goku, alongside physical descriptions, basic knowledge, information on how strong they were and how they generally behaved in a fight. Outside of that knowledge, the Doctor hadn’t programmed her with much else, deeming any other information as  _ unnecessary _ . 

A part of her was curious about the mention that many of them had  _ died  _ in this fight, since she and her brother had been personally responsible for killing them several years later, as well. Of course, she couldn’t reveal that information since she was ‘Videl’, the normal human girl who was hearing all of this for the first time.

She replayed the names she had on file in her head. Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Vegeta-  
She paused as her mind went over the files on _that _name. They were less extensive than the others, seemingly because _that _individual had joined their group later in Goku’s life. In fact, it had that person listed as a potential _threat _to son Goku for _whatever _reason. 

She continued to reflect on the man’s face as she went over his file. Something about him seemed…  _ familiar _ .

She recalled combating him all those years ago. He’d done the same trick Gohan could, his hair shifting to that golden color before his body had been enveloped with flame. At first, she’d thought this meant the two were related somehow, although her files also reported that Gohan’s father was  _ definitely  _ Goku, so that wasn’t a possibility. He’d certainly been one of the more difficult fighters to put down, actually managing to land a few decent hits on her, but he’d fallen like all the rest, despite his best efforts. 

She frowned. Something about his face, the armor he wore in their fight, coupled with  _ this place _ ...made her thoughts linger on the man…

Her eyes flashed as wide as they could, the realization hitting her on just  _ where  _ she’d seen his face before. It had been before Dr. Gero had found her, before he’d  _ tainted  _ herself and her brother with his machinery. 

She remembered it. The destruction of East City had been breaking News, the story interrupting almost every channel on TV at the time to report the massive tragedy. She’d been sitting at a diner at the time, Seventeen, or rather, _Lapis_ had been across from her, the two of them preparing to leave quickly without paying the check when they’d noticed the TV reporting the horrible incident in the corner of the room. She remembered the entire diner growing silent as they all watched, shocked at what was being shown. From what had been reported, two figures had emerged from mysterious pods that fell from the sky, from _space_, before a _massive _portion of East City had been immediately _obliterated_.   
With the aid of helicopters, several very brave or very _stupid_ sets of news crews had followed the duo out to a wasteland, _this _wasteland, she was rapidly realizing, as their live feed televised the two beings responsible for the attack. The incident had been so jarring, so terrifying that she could still remember clearly what they had looked like all those years ago.  
She remembered their clothing being bizarre, clearly alien in design, as they stood there, confidently looking back at the cameras. The transmission had only lasted a short time before the larger of the two had waved a hand, _exploding _one of the helicopters, before the rest had fled for their lives. That one had been a goliath of a man, bulky and bald with a handlebar mustache resting over a smug grin. The other, a more vertically _challenged _individual, had hair that rose like a fire from his widows peak, _unmistakably _Vegeta, himself. 

She recalled hearing on a news bulletin that the larger one had supposedly broken off on his own for a time, confronting the rapidly building military forces of the world over before laying waste to them  _ all _ . 

She blinked, realizing that those two had been considered  _ aliens  _ by the public despite their human-like appearance. If Vegeta and Gohan both shared that strange transformation they went through to get stronger, did that imply that Gohan was…?

She shook her head, deciding that now was likely not the best time to speculate over the matter. There were too many pieces to this puzzle that she didn’t know.

“How’d you find out about this place?” She asked, genuinely curious how the teen had managed to learn about an event that happened so long ago.

“Old news articles, mostly.” He answered. “I was trying to learn more about… _ one  _ of the fighters.” He frowned, his eyes glazed over as he stared out towards the horizon. “I was sorta disappointed when I did.”

“Were they one of the people who died?” 

He looked away, appearing almost  _ ashamed  _ as he answered. “No.”

She could tell that any more questions as to _who _this person had been was going to be met with similarly guarded answers. Instead, she decided to ask a different question.  
“Why did you want to show me this place?” The boy had described the area as ‘cool’ before, but this hardly qualified in her eyes. The battlefield on which a bunch of people were killed trying to defend the earth sounded more _tragic _than it did ‘cool’.

“Well, it’s not like I can take Gohan here, since I think he would be upset if he knew I knew. That, and I at least want  _ someone  _ else to know about what these people did to protect the planet. Not a lot of people know what they sacrificed to protect this world. I figured, I could at least honor them a little bit by telling you.” He smiled a sad smile, looking over towards her. “So, thanks for listening, even if it was a little bit depressing.”

Eighteen nodded. It was a good reason. 

“...I’ll make sure to remember.” 

“Thanks, I’m sure they’d appreciate that.”

She felt a pang of guilt in her chest.

_ Yeah, the person who  _ ** _murdered _ ** _ them will remember what they did to help save the world. I’m sure they’re  _ ** _really _ ** _ appreciative of that. _

She told herself in a sarcastic tone.

Suddenly, she noticed his eyes snapped open wide, his pupils locking onto something behind her. She whipped her head around, frowning when she didn’t immediately see what the boy had spotted.

Trunks was beside her a moment later, his entire body animated as he exclaimed. “Over there! Behind the cliff, I just saw one!”

“Saw what?”

“A  _ dinosaur! _ ” He shouted, elated. An excited smile lit up his face. “I’ve been looking for one all day!” Immediately, his feet started to move towards the cliffside far off in the distance before he paused, frowning and turning back towards her. “I just remembered, we left the apples back there…” He sighed, his shoulders sagging as he spoke in a defeated tone. “They’ll get eaten by the wildlife if we don’t go back soon…”

Eighteen could see the disappointment in his eyes before an idea came to her. Smiling, she motioned with a hand towards the cliff. “You go and find your dinosaur, I’ll go and take our stash back to camp.”

“Really?!” He exclaimed. She could see the child in him slipping out again as he bounced with delight.

“Really. Now, get going before you lose it.”

The boy immediately turned, taking off into the air as he waved back. “Thanks, Videl! You’re the best!”

She let her smile slip away as she watched the shape of the boy grow smaller and smaller. It only took a minute before he’d disappeared behind the cliffside he’d been pointing to.

She sighed, her eyes staring down at the battle scarred ground—the remnants of a battle for the world that happened eighteen years ago.

“...No, I’m not.”   
  


_ -Twenty Minutes Later- _

When she returned to the camp, it was noticeably empty.

_ I guess Gohan is still out hunting… _

She deposited the apples into her backpack before floating into the air and setting the pack on top of one of the higher branches of a neighboring tree. She still remembered the time her brother had told her about wild animals and the proper way to store food when camping. He’d taught her a number of things—how to set up a tent, how to dig a fire pit, and what to do if she ever  _ did  _ encounter a wild sabertooth lion, to name a few. 

She felt a sigh escape her lips as she reflected on the memory. 

_ Simpler times. _

What she would give to go back to those times, before they’d been tricked and forced to become the monsters Dr. Gero had designed for them to be. She doubted Seventeen felt the same way. For him, this had been a dream come true. Suddenly, nothing was off limits, and  _ everywhere  _ was their playground. It was a selfish, wish-fulfilling fantasy they’d gotten the chance to  _ fully  _ immerse themselves in as the years rolled by, each day filled with a new pleasure at the expense of someone else. She’d thought the same way for all that time. It had been their way of life even before this, to ignore the pain and strife they caused with their antics, often getting into trouble and letting others suffer the consequences. 

Her eyes drifted back towards the way she’d come, back towards the flat stretch of land that had been the battleground for what had been a fight to determine the fate of the  _ world _ . She could still remember the massive part of East City that had been consumed by the Saiyans’ initial attack. While it hadn’t been anything compared to what she and her brother could do  _ now _ , judging by the way they’d easily dispatched of the military forces this world had to offer, it was likely they could have destroyed  _ everything  _ if they’d been given the opportunity. 

She remembered being scared when she heard the news. Her brother had been scared too, although he’d put on a brave face for her sake. She smirked, letting out a cynical, half-hearted laugh at the memory. A pair of monstrously powerful individuals appearing out of nowhere and laying waste to city after city with no one able to stop them?

_ Where have I heard  _ ** _that _ ** _ one before? _

The bitter irony was not lost on her. She’d entirely forgotten the experience until Trunks had managed to reawaken it within her. She’d forgotten what it was like to be on the  _ other  _ side of the power dynamic—what it was like being a scared, helpless  _ human  _ incapable of doing anything to stop it.

_ But they did. _

_ They  _ had stopped it. The catastrophe had lasted no more than a day, the two Saiyans mysteriously disappearing just as soon as they’d arrived. There’d been some speculation after the fact, questions as to what had become of the destructive force that had randomly wiped out thousands of lives, but eventually life returned to normal, and people forgot about it.

She thought back to the names Trunks had mentioned, the heroes who had fought to stop the two Saiyans from wreaking their havoc across the world. She tried to think of what would have happened if they  _ hadn’t  _ intervened. What would have become of herself and her brother had Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and even  _ Gohan  _ not stepped in to stop those two  _ monsters _ ?

_ We would be dead. _

It was the obvious conclusion. She doubted that the two aliens had been there for anything other than destruction of anything and everything that came across their path, given that the first  _ seconds  _ of their arrival had marked the death of  _ thousands _ . She doubted her seventeen-year-old self at the time would have had the survival instincts to get away before her city was annihilated. She doubted they’d even get the chance to run judging by what happened to East City. There would have been a flash of light, and then she would have been no more.

Those people, Goku, Gohan, and everyone else, they’d all  _ saved her life  _ that day. They’d saved her brother’s life, they’d saved  _ everybody's  _ lives, and hadn’t even gotten a shred of recognition for it.

And what did she do to repay them?

_ I  _ ** _slaughtered _ ** _ them. _

She slowly pushed her hands to her face, sitting with her knees pulled to her chest as she let a disappointed sigh escape her lips. Even now that she’d  _ stopped  _ killing, it was like she was just being constantly reminded of her  _ failures _ .

She let herself sit for some time, quietly waiting for the other two to return as the last rays of sun cut through the canopy of trees, creating vibrant blades of golden light across the ground that slowly trickedly away as the sun finally set.

_ What’s taking them so long? _

The Android thought as she rose to her feet, closing her eyes as she stretched out her senses. Gohan had said to return at sundown, right?

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that  _ Gohan  _ wasn’t that far away, a mere ten minute walk north by her estimates. It didn’t seem like he was drawing any closer, either. Wherever he was, he was staying put. 

She decided to focus on his energy a while longer, noting that his energy was  _ up,  _ although she couldn’t discern why. It felt like he was...anxious? Excited? She shook her head. It was too hard to try and distinguish an emotion from a Ki signature.

Finally  _ bored  _ of waiting, she decided to start walking that way, curious as to what was keeping the young man so long.

It also gave her an opportunity to test something, something she was almost certain she’d noticed just before her fight with Trunks.

_ He noticed. He saw my  _ ** _eyes_ ** _ . _

She hadn’t been able to tell if it had been a significant look or not, but he’d definitely been studying her, if only for a moment.

She pulled off the shades, their usefulness having been fulfilled before stashing them away into one of her jacket’s pockets.   
Then, she reached up and took _out _her contacts, quickly placing them in the protective case.

_ Here goes nothing. _

She started to march forward.

The lack of light made the forest take on an eerie tone,one that she recalled always  _ hating _ back when Seventeen would force her to come along on his camping trips. Being unable to see what made that crunch in the leaves or that rustle in the bushes had always left her feeling anxious, and she often decided to pull in closer to the safe glow of the fire despite the intense heat. 

Despite it being an almost moonless night, her eyes could easily pierce through the darkness. Paired with the fact that she could literally explode entire  _ cities  _ on a whim, she felt far less jumpy from the noises in the woods.

It didn’t take her long before she noticed the sound of rushing water ahead.

_ A river? _

The Android stepped out, finally coming face to face with a massive stretch of water, it’s current roaring as it tore past her in thrashing torrents. It was very wide, its dark waters cloaking whatever lurked within its depths. She scanned the waters curiously, her eyes trailing along the shoreline before she noticed something odd. Stepping over to investigate, she found a pile of neatly folded orange and blue clothes sitting next to a set of navy-blue boots she was all too familiar with.

_ Did Gohan…? _

Suddenly, the current to her left burst like a geyser, splattered her with droplets of water as a massive shape shot out and onto the beach beside her, making her jump.

“What the-?!”

She turned her head, frowning when she found what appeared to be a massive _tuna _flopping helplessly, beached on the shoreline too far to even hope to return to the water. She walked up to it, hands on her hips as she examined the struggling creature.   
It was _giant_, easily matching her height in length and likely three times her weight. She noticed it had razor-sharp teeth that chomped aimlessly at the air as it continued to squirm. There was yet another eruption from the water as a _second _fish, this one even bigger than the first, exploded from the river, slamming onto shoreline mere feet from where the first had. Eighteen’s eyebrows raised in surprise as she watched this fish begin a similar song and dance of flopping helplessly as its kin had. 

She turned, facing towards the water when she noticed a head break the surface of the river. She watched as Gohan emerged, his onyx hair clung to his head, his lips pulled into an excited grin as he took another step, revealing his neck, and then his  _ chiseled  _ torso, his waistline, and then his-

Immediately, Eighteen spun around, her back facing the man as she felt her cheeks burn. Suddenly, it occurred to her that Gohan likely couldn’t  _ see  _ her in this darkness like she could see him. 

She decided to make her presence known. “Hey, Gohan!” She nearly shouted, feeling her heart thump against her chest. 

She could hear the man startle at her voice. “V-Videl?!” He stammered. She heard the sound of him retreating back into the water. “What are you doing here?” he exclaimed, clearly just as embarrassed as she was.

“I got bored waiting at the camp and felt your energy not too far away.” She answered quickly and honestly. Her eyes studied the ground intently. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were, uh-” She turned her head to look at the two massive creatures next to her. They’d finally begun to grow still, tiring after their desperate efforts. “Fishing.”

“...Oh...that makes sense.” 

The silence between them grew as Eighteen tried to think of what she should  _ do  _ in this situation.

“...I’ll see you back at camp.” She announced abruptly, before she started back the way she came.

“Wait.” Gohan’s voice interjected, sounding somewhere in between annoyed and concerned. “It can be even more dangerous at night if you’re not careful. Just let me get dressed real quick and then I’ll walk back with you.”

Eighteen swallowed. Part of her wanted to decline his offer and take off regardless. She could just fly over the treetops to calm his concerns, right?

...Another part of her liked the idea of walking back with him.  
“Okay.”

She heard the water behind her shift before there was another pause. “Uh,” he began awkwardly, “Your back is turned, right?”

“I can’t see anything.”

“Okay, good. It’s hard to tell in the dark.”

She listened awkwardly to the sounds of the naked man behind her climbing out of the river. There was a pulse of ki as he dried himself off, before the ruffling of his clothes being quickly pulled on filled her ears.

_ ...I could steal a glance and he’d never know… _

She quietly thought to herself, before immediately dismissing the thought. She wasn’t trying to make this already uncomfortable situation even  _ more  _ awkward by trying to sneak a peek. Besides, why would she want to? 

_ It’s not like I’m  _ ** _attracted _ ** _ to him or anything. _

She mentally scoffed. Of course not. That was utterly ridiculous. 

No way in hell.

Nope.

“...”

She very slowly let her head inch to the side, stealing a very subtle sideways glance towards the unsuspecting young man. She frowned when she noted that he’d already pulled on his pants, and seemed to be..._struggling _with his shirt for a short time, before finally managing to pull the fighting Gi down his muscled torso. She’d never seen someone with one arm get dressed before. It looked like an annoying process.   
Immediately, she snapped her head back to focus on the dense forest before her. 

“Alright, you can look now. I’m dressed.”

She turned around, facing him as he approached, wearing his typical, easy-going smile as he did. “So, any luck finding some dinner?”

“I found some apples.”  
She watched as the man’s face split onto a wide, knowing grin. “Did Trunks show you his apple tree spot?”

She blinked, slowly choosing her answer. Should she lie so as to not betray Trunks' trust? Looking at Gohan’s smile, she could tell she’d already been found out. “... _ Technically  _ no. He was already walking back with full arms, and we ran into each other.” She paused before adding, “but don’t let him know I told you. He wanted it to be ‘our little secret’, I think.”

The young man rolled his eyes, a bemused smirk on his face as he shook his head. “That kid...Forces us to follow all these silly rules, and then doesn’t even follow them himself.” He let out a soft, pleasant sounding chuckle. “I should have figured as much. He’s such a sweet kid. I doubted he could actually watch you go hungry without at least offering  _ some  _ of his food.”

He nodded towards the now dead fish resting to their left. “Well, don’t worry. In case you don’t want to have your dinner be entirely composed of _apples_, I’ll be cooking up these guys for all of us.”  
_Both of them_?

That seemed like an awful lot of fish for just three people. She could already predict most of it going to waste.

“I don’t know. I doubt Trunks will accept any of it. He seemed pretty set on his apples, tonight.”

Gohan’s eyebrows rose, his smirk never leaving his face. “Oh, yeah? Just watch when we get there. I bet you he crumbles the moment he sees the fish.”

She felt her lips curl to match his smile. “I’ll take that bet.”

Gohan bent over, reaching out and heaving the smaller of the two tuna onto his shoulder. “We should probably start heading back. I can sense Trunks is already back at camp.”

Eighteen nodded, considering offering to carry the other fish herself when she quickly remembered that she was  _ Videl _ , Ms. Normal Girl who didn’t have immense super strength. 

“One sec, let me get that one so-” she watched as Gohan reached out with his left side, making a motion like he had with his right hand, before pausing, and frowning. 

Her chest gripped as she watched him realize his mistake.

“Whoops, haha.” He let out an empty laugh as he turned to her. “Forgot for a second there. I’ll just come back for it later.” She watched him smile, but it was a smile that didn’t make it to his eyes.

Eyes that held a deep  _ frustration _ within them.

The man walked past her, carrying the fish like it was a simple duffle bag and  _ not  _ a several ton, massive aquatic animal.

Eighteen found herself lingering for a short time, her eyes staring down at the man’s second catch he’d been unable to bring with him. The motion had looked so routine, so fluent, like he’d done it a hundred times before. She thought back to when she’d seen him with the injury for the first time. It had only been a matter of months. She momentarily questioned if this  _ was  _ the first time he’d gone camping since his injury. Had he simply done what he’d always done, only to suddenly get stopped at  _ this  _ part?

_ Because of  _ ** _me._ **

Her eyes squeezed shut, her face tightening into a scowl before she let out a soft sigh. Turning on her heel, she quickly fell in step behind Gohan.   
  


- _ Gohan- _

_ I’m gonna have to have to remember not to go for two next time. _

He mentally noted as he caught sight of Videl out of the corner of his eye. The sun had only just set, and he could feel his eyes beginning to adjust to the lack of light as they moved through the trees. He could see the faint orange glow of the fire ahead, the small dot of light signaling to the Saiyan that Trunks had returned.

“I’ve never seen someone fish like that.” Videl commented, “The whole ‘bait and tackle’ shtick not your style?”

He smiled at her comment. “Well, that’s a method my dad actually taught me. Back when he was around, he would usually go out to a nearby lake and go fishing for a tuna or two like this one.” He rolled his shoulder, bringing attention to the dead fish. “Although, this guy is a little small compared to what he’d catch.”

“That’s  _ small _ ?” She said, her eyes widening in disbelief.

He released a laugh.“Yeah, I know. The Son household always had a big appetite back in those days. My mom would make these huge and extravagant meals for dinner, although she never seemed to mind. In fact, one time-” He paused, his mouth going slack, his eyes narrowing to slits as he realized he’d  _ noticed  _ something.

His feet came to a stop as his stare turned back to her, his eyes widening as they met with hers.

“Your eyes!” He exclaimed, surprised by what he was seeing. “They’re blue again!”

He watched her frown, her forehead creasing with confusion before a look of realization washed over her.

“Ohh, you noticed that?” She let out a soft, easy going laugh. “Yeah, my eyes change color at night. Something about the light intake or whatever. The doctors said it was a form of metamerism…?” She frowned, seemingly struggling to recall the term before shrugging dismissively. “Just something my eyes do sometimes.”

_ Metamerism? _

The term sounded vaguely familiar to him. Probably something his mom had forced him to learn about as a child. From what he could remember, the term referred to when a color appeared differently in contrasting shades of light…? He blinked as he stared, looking into her eyes curiously. He’d heard of people like that, with eyes that changed in the sunlight, although he’d never personally met one.

“What?” She asked, raising an eyebrow his direction as she held his gaze.

“Nothing, just…your eyes...they're really pretty.” He answered honestly, something about them appearing mesmerizing as he stared. They were such a piercing blue, although it was hard to tell in such dim light.

_ And oddly familiar... _

He watched as a light blush filled her cheeks, her gaze pulling away a moment later as she directed her attention back towards the campsite ahead.

“Uh, thanks.” She responded awkwardly to the compliment.

Gohan immediately realized his mistake.

“Right, sorry. We should get a move on before something smells this kill and tries to attack us.” He said, trying to recover from the uncomfortable interaction.

_ She’s your  _ ** _student_ ** _ . She’s not here because she’s interested in you, she’s here to  _ ** _learn! _ ** _ How many times do you have to remind yourself of that fact before it sticks? _

He mentalled scolded himself as the two began to continue their walk to the camp, the conversation between them silenced as they did. His mind rapidly replayed the conversation in his mind, wishing he’d said  _ anything  _ else in response to the color change in her eyes.

_ Well, at least  _ ** _that _ ** _ mystery is solved. _

He let out a sigh through his nose, one he hoped Videl didn't notice.

The glow of the fire bathed them in orange light as the two stepped out into the campsite. Trunks was sitting on a log, his arms wrapped around his knees as he rested his chin on his forearm.

He could see the disappointment written on his face, clear as day from the way he didn’t turn to greet him. 

“Dinosaur hunt didn’t go too well, buddy?”

“Nope.” He answered with a monotone to his voice. 

“The one behind the cliffside got away?”

“It wasn’t the right one, I wanted to find-” He stopped, his eyes fluttering with surprise as he heard Videl’s voice. Finally, the boy turned his head to look at the pair stepping out from the tree line. “Videl? What were you two…?”

Immediately, a devious grin split the boy’s features. “ ** _Oh._ ** ”

Gohan’s hand swatted the teen’s head as he walked past him, nearly dropping his catch as he brought the massive tuna over towards the fire. “It’s not like that,  **Trunks** .” He growled the name in a parental tone. “She felt my Ki over by the river and was curious is all.”

“Right,” Trunks averted his gaze, embarrassed at being scolded. “Sorry.”

“Now get over here and help me prepare this thing. You still remember how I taught you?”

Trunks nodded as he rose to his feet, retrieving a knife from his pack before walking over.

Videl rose into the air, quietly retrieving the bag of apples she’d stored away as the sounds of skin tearing paired with the crackling fire. She returned a moment later, emptying the backpack next to them as they worked.

“Here’s your dinner by the way.”

He watched as the teen turned and stared at the apples deposited on the ground, before turning back to examine the massive fish again. He could already see a thin line of saliva forming from the corner of his mouth before he quickly wiped it away.

“Oh...” he said in a disheartened tone. ”Right.”

“That is…” Gohan began, feeling the corners of his mouth begin to rise. “Unless you’d like to share what  _ I  _ caught.”

Trunks looked up with an eager, exuberant look. “I mean,” He shrugged, trying and  _ failing  _ to appear indifferent. “If you’re offering.”

Videl was the first to laugh, shortly followed by the demi-Saiyan as Trunks turned to look between the two of them, confused.

“What?” He frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“Alright, you win.” Videl finally said, letting her pleasant laugh fade away. “You were totally right.”

“Win?” Trunks repeated.  
“I bet her that you’d cave on the whole ‘you only eat what you gather’ rule you came up with the moment you saw the fish.”

“Oh,” The teen flustered, looking away with a frown, before his eyes flickered with a realization. “Wait, what did you win?”

“Huh?” Gohan paused, replaying his words before answering. “It’s just a turn of phrase. We didn’t actually-”

“How about a kiss?” Trunks said, wearing the most  _ shit-eating  _ grin Gohan had ever seen from the teen.

Immediately, he felt his cheeks heat up as a similar reaction appeared on Videl’s face.

“ **Stop. It.** ” Gohan hissed, swatting the back of his young friend’s head a second time as the boy snickered.

“Worth it.”

The night continued on, the trio sitting around the fire as Gohan watched the fish cook carefully within the flames, having been skewered by a massive branch and then stuck into the dirt over the fire. After adding a few spices he’d brought in his bag to the meal, he handed out slices of the cooked animal to each of his students.

The trio sat around the fire, each having their own logs for seats as they were served their meals.

He watched as the teenager immediately dug into his portion which he’d made  _ considerably  _ larger, knowing a Saiyan child’s appetite. 

“Relax buddy, there’s plenty more after that.” Gohan sat down with his own paper plate, forcing himself to eat slowly as he watched the teen rapidly shovel the fish into his mouth.

“Buf iff soh ghood!” Trunks exclaimed with a happy mouthful.

Videl slowly raised a bite to her lips, chewing for a moment before her eyes grew wide. “Wow. That actually  _ is  _ pretty tasty.” Her eyes found his, an impressed smile resting on her lips. “I didn’t know you could  _ cook _ .”

Gohan shrugged. “I told you, my mom would cook these grand meals every night for us. I guess some of her practices must have rubbed off on me.” He paused before adding, “ _ That _ , and I got pretty good at cooking what I could find when I was out here as a kid.”

_ “About that _ .” Videl aimed her plastic fork in his direction after taking a second bite. “You mentioned that your old master left you out here for a while. How long did you survive out here by yourself?”

Gohan let his eyes wander out towards the stars as he tried to remember that time of his life. This place wasn’t  _ technically  _ the same area he’d survived in all those years ago. That had been the Break Wasteland, but that area was  _ far  _ more dangerous.This forest just so happened to border that area, so he felt it was a close enough substitute.

“About six months, give or take.”

Videl abruptly started coughing, her eyes blinking wide at the new information. Finally, she managed to swallow the piece of fish lodged in her throat. “ _ Six months? _ ” She repeated incredulously. “How  _ old  _ were you?”

Gohan felt his voice die in his throat. For a moment, he thought about lying, telling her a more  _ reasonable  _ age to be left entirely on your own to battle the elements.

Eventually, he decided to just go with the truth. Who did it hurt for her to know? 

He waited until she’d properly swallowed her next bite before answering. “...Four…”

He watched as she stabbed her next piece of fish, only for it to slip off her fork, landing on the ground at her feet as her mouth fell agape.

“You were  _ four _ .” She repeated, clearly not fully believing him.

He nodded, chewing a healthy mouthful.

“Was your old master  _ crazy _ ?” She finally asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

Gohan couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, his methods  _ were  _ a little...rugged, admittedly.  _ But  _ to his credit, they were definitely effective. That, and well…” He paused, his smile slowly fading as he thought back on the Namekian. “He had a complicated past. He had a good heart, even if he would never openly admit it. I don’t blame him for his training methods, honestly.” His grin quickly returned. “When I was a kid I certainly did, though. I thought he was a  _ really  _ mean person, and a part of me resented him for it. Now that I look back on it, I know what he did was all in my best interest, and I wouldn’t change a second of it.”

He took another massive bite. Swallowing, before his lips pulled into a frown. 

“Ah, crap.”

_ -Eighteen- _

She frowned when she watched the man rise to his feet, setting his plate down beside him as he began to walk away from the fire.

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot about the fish back there. I can sense that something just found it. Probably just a wolf or sabertooth lion. I’m going to go scare it off and salvage what I can.”

“Please do!” Trunks called after the man as he started to jog away. “I’m already hungry for seconds!” Immediately, the teen went to work tearing off another  _ massive  _ chunk of flesh for himself. It was clear to her that between the two of them, there wasn’t going to be much left of this first tuna soon.

Eighteen took another bite before she decided to stretch out her own senses, curious as to what Gohan had felt over by the river.

_ Yup, there’s definitely  _ ** _something _ ** _ there. _

Animal energy signatures always felt a little strange to her. They were so different from people; So much more chaotic and wild.

_ I guess that makes sense considering where we are. _

Her mind began to wander towards Gohan as she continued to focus on him. She'd been right to be suspicious of his gaze a few nights prior. His usage of the word 'again' had told her as much when he'd finally noticed her eyes. Although, that wasn't the piece of information that was currently running rampant through her mind.

_ Four years old… _

It didn't take a genius to draw the connections. Trunks had told her that the fight had happened when Gohan had been five, telling her that the boy's involvement had been less out of a  _ desire  _ to train him, and more out of  _ necessity.  _

_ They knew the Saiyans were coming, somehow. _

She idly questioned what the looming pressure of having to challenge two beings capable of wiping out an entire  _ military fleet _ would do to a child of  _ four years old.  _

_ Perhaps he wasn't told. They could have left him in the dark until the day came. _

Somehow, she doubted that. She imagined had the boy not been told beforehand, he would have been panicked and unprepared when the battle finally came.

_ You've been dealt a shitty hand all your life, Gohan. _

She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh so quiet she was certain Trunks wouldn't notice it.

_ And then  _ ** _I_ ** _ just came around to make it  _ ** _worse_ ** _ . _

She could feel Gohan’s signature approaching the river bank now, having considerably sped up after breaking line of sight.

Then, she felt something  _ strange  _ happen. Instead of the animal spooking and fleeing, it was  _ Gohan’s  _ energy that abruptly turned and began heading  _ back  _ in _ their  _ direction. Moreover, it felt as if the other signature was  _ chasing  _ Gohan now.

She frowned, what could possibly have sent  _ Gohan _ , the man who could level entire cities with a single strike, running?

Then, she could feel the Earth beneath her begin to  _ rumble _ .

Trunks stopped eating, his head turning towards the heavy  _ thumping  _ in the distance. A smile began to slowly split his face. “No way…”

“What? What’s happening?” She asked, confused.

“Truuuunks!” Gohan’s voice split the air in a sing-song voice, “I found an  _ old friend  _ for you!”

_ Old friend? _

The teen was to his feet a moment later. “He found him!” He exclaimed excitedly.

“Found _who_?” She asked, desperate to find out what was coming their direction. She rose to her feet a moment later, staring into the darkness with a slight hint of concern pulling at her features. What in the world could possibly send Gohan running-  
Her eyes widened as she finally found her answer.

Stomping behind the man clad in orange, trampling through the branches and bushes dividing it from its prey, was an enormous, razor-toothed  **Ferocisaurus** . It’s massive, T-rex-esque jaws snapped dangerously behind Gohan running  _ just  _ out of its reach. She could also see, swinging behind it appeared to be a tail that was...partially cut off? Her enhanced eyes could make out Gohan just ahead of it, a bright, playful grin on his face as he continued to run their direction.

“There it is!” Trunks exclaimed. “I was looking for you, big guy!”

“ _ That’s  _ the dinosaur you’ve been searching for all day?!” She stared in shock as it drew closer, not sure if she should be preparing to fight this thing. It certainly didn’t  _ look  _ like Trunks or Gohan were very afraid of it.

“Yeah! It’s the same one Gohan had to run away from as a kid!”

_ Gohan had to run away from  _ ** _this _ ** _ in his training?! _

Eighteen rapidly concluded that Gohan’s old master  _ must  _ have been completely  _ insane _ for leaving him out in this environment on his own for so long, regardless of the situation. Another part of her questioned how Gohan could have  _ possibly  _ survived out here for all that time if  _ this  _ was what he had to deal with!

She began to fall into her fighting stance, preparing to put this monster down if she had to. A few moments later, Gohan came bursting out of the treeline, leaping over the fire as he passed her.

“C’mon!” He urged excitedly. Before she knew what was going on, she felt Gohan’s hand grip hers before she was quickly pulled away from the prehistoric  _ beast  _ chasing behind them. She fell into step a moment later, Gohan’s hand pulling her along as Trunks quickly began to run alongside them, grinning ear to ear as he did.

“What the hell are we  _ doing  _ right now?!” She exclaimed, sprinting with the man as she felt the dinosaur's hot breath on her back.

“ _ Running! _ ” He answered, laughing as he continued to pull her along, making sure she didn’t fall too far behind.

After a few seconds, she watched as Trunks suddenly disappeared from beside her, leaping into the air in a single fluid motion before landing square on the dinosaur’s neck, riding the creature like a horse as his hands gripped the horns spiraling out from the predator’s star-shaped head. 

The Ferocisaurus didn’t seem to notice the boy as it continued to hungrily chase the two of them away from their camp. Her head turned back, watching the delight spread across the teen’s face as he rode the charging dinosaur after them.

Then it hit her.

They weren’t in any  _ real  _ danger. They were just having  _ fun _ . Having fun being chased by an animal that didn’t know it couldn’t  _ actually  _ harm them. She was even willing to bet if she  _ did  _ fall behind, Gohan was ready to pull her away before she could actually be injured, even if she knew that wasn’t physically possible.

Hell, they could even fly away at any moment if they wanted to.

She felt a grin slowly spread across her face as she finally understood. She quickly pulled ahead, matching Gohan’s pace and allowing the young man to let go of her hand. She looked over towards him, sharing a look that told him that she finally understood what was going on.

“Try to keep up!” Gohan beamed, releasing another laugh as he narrowly avoided a snap from the creature’s jaws. ”Whoa!”

Eighteen couldn’t help but join in on their laughter.

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man! Was this a chapter and a half to write! (Actually, this was more like a chapter and ¾’s to write since it spans 35 pages long lol). I’d thought about splitting it into two chapters, but considering who the next chapter is going to be mostly about, and what chapter number it happens to land on,(seriously, I did not plan that out at all lol) I decided to leave it all as a whole. I’m sure you’ve all pieced together who our focus will be the next time this story updates. Just a little teaser for those of you who care to know.
> 
> I also felt that overall, this chapter flowed better as one whole rather than two parts, so lucky you guys! I hadn’t intended it to get this long really. My outline did not plan for this much content, but I just kept stumbling onto topics I wanted to explore the more the characters interacted with one another. For example, I hadn’t intended for ‘Videl’ to draw the connection between the Saiyans and herself, but as I thought about it, I realized that her and her brother having to live through the Saiyan attack was absolutely something that happened. Then, when I realized how ironic it was to see them in this situation considering all they’ve done, I couldn’t pass up the chance to write about it.
> 
> That being said, I really hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I tried to keep up the pace as much as possible, and skip through any boring camping stuff to focus on our characters. The concept itself was so fun in my head that I really hope it translated to you guys well enough, and wasn’t just a bore to sit through haha. Another interesting note: This chapter required me to do the absolute most research on the original series than any other chapter. It was mostly me trying to get the locations right in relation to each other. The locations of the wastelands: Paprika and Break, both in regards to each other and West City (as far as the dbz wiki can verify) are all accurate. I also had to do a bit of research on the Saiyan’s arrival since I couldn’t remember if they were properly documented via the news. I actually went to the dbz abridged series to check since they’re actually very accurate to the original plot for the most part, and yup! It’s canon (at least as far as the anime goes) that Nappa and Vegeta were caught on film during that time. There was also the dinosaur at the end, which I had to look up to make sure I got the name right since dbz likes to give things silly names.
> 
> I also had to play around with what Android 18 would actually know about Goku and friends. I did as much research as I could, but what I found was vague at best. Yes, Dr. Gero did employ his spybots and watched the most significant fights occur on planet Earth, but it seemed that not everything he gathered were programmed into 17 and 18 based off of some of their lines in the show. Overall, I couldn’t tell exactly what they did and didn’t know about the fighters, so I tried to come to a reasonable middle ground and leave 18’s understanding of them as ‘serviceable, but not vast’ if that makes any sense. He made them to combat the Z-fighters, knowing their moves and who they are would suffice for that purpose, leaving out any history or depth he may have gathered as well (which is why 18 doesn’t recognize the term ‘Saiyan’ since it wasn’t all that important to know, and I can’t recall them ever referring to any of the Saiyans as such either way). Plus, I felt it made the scene more impactful for her to be slightly lost on the matter during her discussion with Trunks.
> 
> All that being said, please, please consider dropping a comment for this chapter, even if you’re a reader who doesn’t typically (It broke my heart when the last chapter got hardly any attention on this cite, am I doing something wrong here?). This one, while extremely fun to write, definitely took a lot more time and dedication to complete than most, for both me and Ben Thryss, considering he had to comb through 35 pages of content cleaning up my messes (Sorry, Ben! I really hope this one wasn’t too rough for you! I tried my best!) My sleep schedule is entirely out of whack from staying up night after night until literally 5am working on it (it’s already 4am as I’m writing this AN). Understandably, I definitely want to know what people think of it, I’m rather proud of it as a whole honestly with all that it covered.  
Wow, that was a long AN, and I desperately need sleep (and so does Ben lol, he told me this chapter was exhausting to comb through) -_- so, I will bid you all farewell!
> 
> Until next time!


	17. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following his failure with Dr.Challenger, Android Seventeen finds himself without purpose, without means to get back the life he lost; That is, until someone unexpected enters his life.

- _ Seventeen- _

_  
_ The wind howled as he dove through the skies, his hair trailing behind him as he stared forward. His gaze was unfocused and empty, his eyes two bored orbs resting in an emotionless face. How long had he been flying now? He couldn’t say for certain.. He didn’t know his destination either. He had no home to return to now, no place that he could call his own. He’d paused over a few houses in the past several days, studying them intently before eventually deciding to move on. Back then, it’d merely been a matter of choosing a home, slaughtering its residents with his sister by his side, and moving in.  
Without her, he found himself hesitating. What if the neighbors noticed? Before, it hardly mattered whether or not people knew where they lived. No one existed that could rival their combined power. But now, if just _one _nosy _maggot _spotted him, they could leak the information to the news, which could then broadcast his whereabouts_—_or so he assumed.

Blondie could be on his doorstep in a matter of days.  
A part of Seventeen felt he was just being paranoid. Another part of him, however, felt his fears were completely justified. Why _wouldn’t _Blondie be trying to hunt him down now that he’d fallen off the radar? 

_ It’s what  _ ** _I_ ** _ would do if I were him. _

He forced his mind to move on to other topics. He briefly thought about whether his little stunt in that  _ damned  _ lab had made headlines. He hadn’t paid attention to what the  _ humans  _ were up to over the past...week? Had it really already been a week? The time had moved so fast, and yet, he’d done so little with it. He questioned how many times he’d circled the Earth already, only pausing for the briefest respites when he found himself hovering over a particularly isolated portion of forest. 

He’d always had an affinity for the outdoors—towards nature. It was just so..._peaceful_. It relaxed him to be out where the trees and mountains were, away from the _annoyance _that was mankind. He’d always jumped at the chance to go camping, even before Dr. Gero had found him. Of course, Eighteen had always been just the opposite, loving the city’s urban environment, loving _shopping _and other _girly _activities. Convincing her to join him on a camping trip had always been such a chore, so much so that he often resigned to simply go on his own when the urge seized him.   
His uninterested gaze rested on the ground below, rushing past in a blur of rich greens and muddy browns. He realized that he’d finally passed the dry desert climate that had seemed to stretch on for ages, having reached what appeared to be some sort of dense woodlands.  
Seventeen slowed to a stop, his eyes falling on a relatively thin stretch of river that extended past what the eye could see. The sounds of rushing water, its constant, docile tones soothed him as he listened. Eventually, the Android chose to lower himself to its banks, his feet crunching and sinking ever so slightly into the sand.   
His eyes lingered on the river bank, thinking back to a time he’d watched Eighteen sit at a lip much like this one during one of the few times she’d actually _agreed _to join him out in nature. He pictured her there now, legs kicking into the water as she sat, body language expressing boredom—but he could always tell somewhere in her eyes an unspoken enjoyment. Even she must get tired of all the artificial city lights and intrusive vehicle noises. 

“Eighteen…” He said the name in a voice no louder than a whisper. 

Despite his decision to leave his sister, that didn’t stop his thoughts from returning to the young woman  _ constantly _ . She’d been—no _ — _ she still  _ was  _ his sister, even if he no longer felt that he could trust her. 

_ I wonder if she’s still with... _ ** _him_ ** _ . _

He scowled at the thought. Despite never directly stating that she’d formed _some _sort of relationship with the one-armed wonder, their final conversation had been confirmation enough for Seventeen.   
  
_“...I’m guessing that those little trips out to ‘work out’...were with him?”_

_Her eyes snapped open, realizing the implication. “It’s not like that! I promise that we’re not—”__  
_ _“_**_Go away_**_, Eighteen.”_

His eyes screwed shut as he recalled the memory.

Why? Why had she done it? What had made her so abruptly change sides? And if her and Blondie’s relationship  _ wasn’t  _ romantic as he’d immediately assumed, then  _ what  _ was it? A part of him wished he’d let her speak in those moments, let her explain herself so that he didn’t have these burning questions in the back of his mind. 

_ Was it me? _

A part of Seventeen had found blame in himself. Had it been  _ his  _ fault for her abrupt betrayal? She had been acting... _ strange _ , just before what he liked to call ‘ _ the incident’. _

He stole a glance at his missing arm.   
He couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility, as much as he hated it. Had he _really _been so bad a brother that she chose to outright defy him in the worst way possible? He’d never seen it that way. He’d always thought their relationship was healthy—well,as healthy as two mass-murdering Androids _could _be.  
He sighed, his gaze cast downward. He supposed it didn’t matter, now. What was done was done. What more, he’d lost his final chance at returning to his past self days ago. When that bastard Challenger had managed to trash his plans entirely. Without Eighteen’s help, there wasn’t a chance in hell of returning to his old life.   
“Can’t do anything about it now.” His voice said in a defeated tone. Turning, he found a nice tree to lean against, sliding down it as he pulled a single knee to his chest. His eyes scanned the currents as they raced past. 

In a matter of minutes, or perhaps it had been hours—he couldn’t tell anymore—a small, grey-colored rabbit hopped into view. Seventeen's head slowly tilted to the side, studying the creature. He watched as its eyes turned to examine him—deciding whether or not he was a threat—before it shifted and began to chew on some foliage alongside the opposite side of the river. 

Seventeen thought about raising a hand and blasting the small critter, but eventually opted against the idea. He supposed he could allow the creature to live; if only because it provided _something _for him to look at aside from the dull trees and ever-shifting water. While it wasn’t a rule he _always _followed, he generally left wildlife alone when he encountered it. Something about them not knowing he was a direct threat was pleasant to him. Every human in the world would turn away screaming the moment they recognized him, but not animals. No, they regarded him like any other person, and left him alone as long as he did the same.   
Eventually, the small bunny moved out of view, and Seventeen’s eyelids fell. The sun was beginning to set, and he found his willpower to stay awake slowly draining. While his body never _truly _tired, his mind sure could. A part of him just wanted to sleep, to wake up and realize that all of this had just been a bad dream. Maybe, just maybe, he could sleep so long that Gohan died of old age. Seventeen _was _immortal, wasn’t he? At least, that had been his and his sister’s running theory. Perhaps, if he went to sleep and _stayed_ asleep, he could simply wait until this whole fiasco was over. His sister would still be alive, at least. That much was certain. He could rise, stretch, and things would go back to the way they were before all this; with the added bonus of Gohan being dead in the ground.  
He felt his lips curve into a subtle smile. 

The idea soothed the android into sleep.

  
  


_ -Cell- _ _   
_ _   
  
_

Cell wished he could  _ die _ . 

He figured he  _ had  _ to expire at some point. No creature, regardless of its genetic makeup, could  _ continue  _ to survive in conditions like these, could it?

His body was mangled, torn and even severed from itself in some places. He could feel the weight of the entire mountain atop him, crushing him in a never ending torment. Sharp, jagged rocks dug into his flesh, one of the stones having ripped away his arm in the collapse when his skin had been _seared off _from Eighteen’s blast. He could feel his limb attempting to regrow itself, only to have the stone impede its progress. He’d have to shift, find somewhere with space before he could attempt to restore the arm.   
He wanted to scream out in pain, but his earthy tomb had long since ran out of oxygen. His lungs felt like they were coated in lava as they continued a futile attempt to take in air, only to be met with _nothing_. 

With his remaining hand, he stretched out, attempting to pull himself towards where he believed ‘up’ to be. He heard the earth shift around him as he did. Suddenly, a shattered boulder slid, slamming into one of his legs as it flatted the limb with a sickeningly wet impact.

Cell grimaced as he processed the intense pain, unable to let out a scream. 

_ So...weak… _

His leg immediately went to regrowing itself, slowly this time, as his energy was so  _ little  _ he was uncertain if he would be able to regenerate the limb at all. How long had it been since he’d last eaten? How long had he been  _ trapped  _ beneath the surface of the earth? He had to assume several sunrises had come and gone, although without any light, it was hard to tell. 

_ I need... _ ** _food_ ** _ . _

Without a timely victim to restore his energy, Cell didn’t know how long he could last down here. He’d expected himself to perish long ago, but it seemed Dr.Gero’s genius surpassed even his own expectations. He’d questioned if he would ever die, if Dr.Gero had actually managed to craft a truly  _ immortal  _ being, only for it to be trapped beneath the earth, never to be  _ fully  _ completed.

The concept _terrified _him. It motivated him to move even when he felt like giving up, because he _couldn’t _give up. Giving up would mean spending an eternity _down here_, swallowed by the earth, his chest feeling like it was going to burst from the lack of oxygen, but never following through with the threat.  
That fate was not for him. No, he refused to believe it.

With a sharp jerk, he tore his thigh free of the now useless and broken leg. He shuttered, feeling even more of his unnatural viridescent blood pour from the new wound. This process was absolute _agony._ Crawl a few inches, still with the immense weight of thousands of pounds of dirt resting on top of him, only for the stones to shift from the movement and collapse on a part of him that would eventually have to be torn away in order for him to continue.   
And it was all because of_..._**_her_**.

_ Eighteen… _

He snarled as he pictured her face in his mind. He’d made several mental promises to exact revenge against the Android who’d done this to him. He didn’t know  _ what  _ he could do to the woman to replicate the amount of pain he was going through. What plan could he possibly form to compare? Nothing came to mind.

_ I’ll...have to think...of something. _

His thoughts came slowly, likely a side effect of how often he was being forced to regenerate himself. The concept of seeking revenge against the blonde android had been as much a motivation to continue as the fear of being trapped down here forever. 

Cell continued to move forward, tearing away limbs when he had to, opting to leave other limbs torn away as to conserve the little energy he had left. 

With a trembling hand, he pulled himself into a patch of dirt. While not _soft, _as it was still hard packed and difficult to work through, it did mean that he didn’t have to worry about one of his arms or legs being crushed by a shifted stone.   
He tried to breathe a sigh of relief, failed, and then set to work trying to regrow an arm he’d lost minutes ago. 

He frowned.

His body went rigid. Panic began to set in as he tried a second time...with no effect.

It appeared he’d _finally _reached his genetic _limit_. No matter how much he attempted to prompt his namekian healing factor, his body wouldn’t comply. He no longer had the energy to regrow himself. 

Cell ceased his progress when he realized this. Alongside his missing arm, he was also suffering from the lack of a leg on his right side. 

_ If I continue...if I get stuck again… _

If he were to come across another layer of stones like the last, it could spell the end for him. He would suffer the loss of his remaining arm, and then that would be it. He would be stuck, unable to free himself, lost beneath the land for all eternity.

_ Or...maybe not… _

If his regeneration could be overwhelmed, who’s to say how long it would take for him to finally  _ starve  _ to death? He  _ knew  _ that in his ‘perfect’ form, he would be able to recover from anything. His body would be able to last  _ forever _ without any external means, but that was when he was  _ complete. _ As he was now, he had no idea if his imperfect form had the same durability.

Cell’s hesitation was short-lived as he began to slowly crawl once more. It wasn’t as if he had many options. Either lose his final arm in the effort to free himself, or die down here without ever knowing true perfection.

The thought sickened him. 

His arm plunged through the dirt, dragging the rest of his broken body upward before repeating the process, his entire from trembling from the effort. He forced his mind to think about all the terrible things he would do to Android Eighteen to distract himself from the exertion. It was a tricky prospect, as he knew that he still  _ needed  _ her in order to complete himself. That meant that whatever he did to her, would need to be careful not to damage her energy core, which was what  _ truly  _ mattered. Perhaps he could simply tear off all of her limbs. A fitting punishment for what he was suffering. He questioned if that would have some sort of inverse effect on her energy output-

His thoughts emptied. His hand had just surged forward in a practiced motion, expecting to grasp another handful of dirt to drag himself upward again.

Instead, he felt  _ air _ .

Dr.Gero’s final creation scrambled as he bent his arm, pushing down on the flat surface of the dirt before pulling the rest of himself up. His head erupted from the earth, spraying dirt everywhere as he took his first breath in  _ ages.  _ He gasped, taking long, greedy gulps of air. 

Then, he let his head fall back and let out a primal, rage filled  _ roar _ .

_ -Two Hours Later- _

The sun slowly began to slip behind the horizon, its final beams of light cascading over the dense treeline.   
Cell had _finally _found the strength to regrow his previously amputated limbs, able to crawl and move about as he pleased. The process had taken him far longer to accomplish than he’d have hoped. Unable to hunt as he normally did, he’d been forced to drag himself to a hidden spot within a set of bushes and _wait _for a suitable prey to approach.   
Thankfully, it hadn’t been long before a youthful sabertooth tiger had wandered into his sights. The meal had been _just _enough for Cell to restore his body to its normal state. However, his stores of energy were still _pitifully _low, and would require much, _much _more food for him to be fully replenished.

_ Damn android! _

Cell kept himself low, his legs moving like a spider as he traversed the uneven terrain of the forest floor. He’d tried walking upright a number of times in the past, but the process felt unnatural to him. Crawling just seemed a much more efficient means of travel; at least until he figured out how to  _ fly _ . 

He could hear the sounds of a current ahead and immediately grew excited.

_ Water means  _ ** _animals_ ** **.**

A river was a natural meeting point for wildlife as he understood it. A water source always drew out those seeking to quench their thirst, not to mention the fish within its streams were often easily caught.

Despite his still weakened state, his motions grew faster, eager to discover what lay in wait for his hungry belly. 

After a short sprint on all fours, he finally broke the tree line. His cat-like eyes immediately locked onto a small grey bunny attempting to retreat into a set of bushes to his right, likely frightened by his hurried movements.  
His tail proved too swift for the small rabbit. 

After absorbing the trivial meal into his being, Cell approached the source of water. His eyes began to dilate to compensate for the poor lighting. He squinted, searching the depths of the river for his next meal when a shape on the other side of the river caught his eye. Turning his head, he studied the figure curiously.

_ A human? All the way out here?  _

There, slumped against a large tree, was the undeniable shape of a  _ person _ .

It was strange for Cell to find  _ people  _ this far out in the wilderness, but that didn’t mean he was going to ignore such an easy  _ meal _ . He’d found that people were often the  _ best  _ source of food in means of replenishing his reserves, not to mention the excitement of discovering something  _ new  _ about the world from the person he ingested. 

He felt his stomach rumble before he quickly slipped into the water. The current was strong, but Cell’s body easily adapted to the new terrain. His arms pinned to his sides, his tail moved to act like a fin as he began to snake through the water much like he’d seen fish do so many times before. In a matter of moments, he’d crossed the stream and pulled his massive, spindally form from the river bank. 

He began to slowly creep towards the slumbering figure. As he did, his head tilted to the side, confused. Something about this individual appeared..._familiar_, although he was uncertain of just where he could have possibly seen them before.  
It wasn’t until he’d managed to close the distance between them to a mere ten feet that he realized just _who _he was looking at.

His entire body froze in its movement. He dared not even blink, less he do and the figure disappear, revealed to be no more than his hungry delusions at work. 

_ Android Seventeen. _

He couldn’t believe it. What was Android Seventeen doing  _ here  _ of all places? What more, why had he chosen such a strange place to rest? Infact, did the androids even  _ need  _ rest to begin with? They were  _ machines,  _ weren’t they? 

Cell’s shape stayed entirely motionless as he examined the resting android. He knew that androids Seventeen and Eighteen were of Dr.Gero’s design, and likely had sensors far superior to that of a normal human. It was possible that just one subtle noise would be enough to wake the slumbering machine. 

_ I have to be...careful… _

He knew it to be true. In that moment, he was both in a highly  _ opportunistic  _ situation, as well as a dangerous one. If he roused the Android into wakefulness, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Android Seventeen would seek to kill him much like his sibling had. 

_ Where  _ ** _is_ ** _ Android Eighteen? _

From what he understood, the two had been seemingly inseparable. They were twins, siblings from birth and, as far as he understood, vastly loyal to one and other. It made little sense that one would stray so far from the other, not to mention choosing to rest out in the middle of  _ nowhere.  _

_ How...odd. _

He’d thought it unusual when the two had visited the now decimated laboratory separately, but had chalked it up as little more than a fluke occurrence. It was possible for one to be away from the other for a time and still return later.

Now, in conjunction with Android Eighteen’s peculiar new look, Cell was much less certain of what to think.   
His eyes worked their way up and down the Android. Had his face been able to do so, he would have formed a frown. 

_ His arm…it’s  _ ** _gone_ ** **.**

The limb was completely severed at the shoulder. It was painfully clear that Android Seventeen had suffered a  _ considerable  _ wound. Had that been from a battle between the two androids? Was that the reason they were now traveling separately? 

Cell found himself growing angry at the sleeping android. He didn’t know the nature of the wound, but there _was _a possibility that such a significant injury could result in a _less _than perfect version of _himself _once he absorbed the young man. He found himself wishing Android Seventeen had taken better care of himself. Didn’t he know that he was necessary for the ultimate lifeform?  
_No... he wouldn’t. _

Considering how clueless his sister had been when regarding himself, it seemed that neither of the siblings were aware of what they were  _ truly  _ destined to become. What more, Cell had quickly realized that he had the  _ rare  _ opportunity to accelerate Seventeen’s destiny. Before, Cell had assumed that it would take years of carefully absorbing victim after victim. He’d have to be slow with his development, making sure to not draw any unwanted attention from either the androids, or Son Gohan who he  _ suspected  _ was still alive.

However,  _ now  _ he had the chance to forgo all that struggle, to take Seventeen here and now before the android even knew what was going on. 

Cell could feel Dr.Gero’s programmed instincts urging him to do it, to slowly creep up and absorb one of the two pieces he required to achieve  _ perfection.  _

Another part of Cell was hesitant. What if he woke the dangerous android? What then? Would he even have a chance to escape? 

Regardless of the dangers, Cell found his body beginning to creep towards the slumbering figure. It was true that he was very much risking his life by doing so, but the potential of gaining such a vital piece of his perfection  _ years  _ before he’d believed himself ready was too much to ignore.

Cell’s yellow eyes refused to leave Seventeen, refused to even  _ blink  _ as he crept closer to the sleeping man. His limbs all worked carefully, flattening the untamed grass as he tried to mitigate the sound of his approach. He mentally cursed the foliage for existing in this moment, producing tiny, crunching sounds that seemed so loud despite the rushing current only a few lengths away. 

Finally, after several pain staking moments, he’d closed the distance between he and his piece of  _ perfection _ .

He watched Seventeen’s chest rise and fall, soft breaths of air slipping from the young man’s nostrils. Did Seventeen even  _ need  _ to breathe? Or was that a natural habit from the time before Dr.Gero graciously took them to become something  _ more _ ? Cell had always had a strong understanding of the two androids. He reasoned that it was a design of Dr.Gero’s, ensuring that Cell would have the strongest chance at hunting them down once he grew powerful enough to take them for himself. 

He positioned his tail over his shoulder, still moving slowly less he accidentally wake the man. Even now, he knew that his prize wasn’t assured. He’d need to make his swallowing of the android a swift, and likely rushed movement. A shame, as he’d always envisioned the process as something he could  _ savor _ , something to be enjoyed much like how people enjoyed  _ normal  _ food, or so he’d come to understand after swallowed an obese man who’d been walking around with one of those long barreled  _ guns  _ on his shoulder. 

Cell reviled at the memory. He still hated those annoying contraptions. 

He licked his lips. He imagined that he would no longer find them all that bothersome once Seventeen’s power became his own. 

The needle-like point of his tail began to slowly expand, becoming a large gaping mouth, larger in width than Seventeen’s shoulders as it hovered over the android. Once again, he’d known instinctually that he was meant to absorb Dr.Gero’s  _ second  _ most impressive creations this way. He could not swallow them with the same method he absorbed other lifeforms, as he needed to ensure that the internal mechanisms within Seventeen remained  _ intact. _

He slowly descended the tail, readying himself to slam the limb downward, enveloping the sleeping figure in one swift motion. He needed to ensure that Seventeen had absolutely  ** _no _ ** chance to retaliate. Hopefully, he would awaken confused, and lose the chance to struggle in his disorientated state.

Cell jumped as the sounds of a sharp rustling startled him. His head snapped to the side, his eyes locking onto a small racoon who’d climbed out of a large patch of bushes just a few feet away. Cell’s eyes met it’s, and immediately the racoon tensed, its fur rising in an attempt to make itself appear larger. It bore its fangs towards Cell as it let out a sharp snarl, hastily retreating back into the bush.

Cell’s head snapped back to Seventeen.

The android’s body shifted, rousing from his slumber.

_ No! _

He knew he was about to lose his chance. In a desperate motion, Cell’s tail swiftly fell just as Seventeen’s eyes snapped open, his brow furrowed in confusion. His upper torso disappeared a moment later, enveloped by Cell’s snake-like tail. For a moment, Cell felt his victory assured, his limb moving quickly as it inched downward, swallowing even more of the android.

_ I have  _ ** _won!_ **

The euphoria of the thought made Cell shiver in delight. It was only a matter of finding Android Eighteen now. Where would she-

His tail  _ exploded. _

The limb was blasted away in all directions as Cell was thrown back by the force. His momentum was halted by a tree that cracked as he hit it, his head slamming back in a violent motion that left him dazed as he slumped against the ground.

He took a few foggy moments to collect himself, his eyes narrowed as he processed the intense pain of first, losing his tail, and then the collective bruising across his back.

_ What just happened? _

His mind felt muddled as he sat. Hadn’t he won? He’d almost entirely swallowed the android, how had he failed?

Quickly, his thoughts cleared as his head snapped upward, eyes now wide as he turned towards the source of his pain. 

He locked eyes with Android Seventeen. There was hatred in those eyes, a furious snarl consumed his features as he regarded Cell with a clenched fist. 

Cell felt his body tremble in  _ fear _ .   
  


- _ Seventeen- _ _   
_ _   
_ _   
  
_

_ What the actual fuck is  _ ** _that_ ** _ ? _

The creature was shaped  _ almost  _ like a man, with spindly, lengthy limbs armored in a green carapace speckled with random black shapes. It’s hands resembled a man’s, although Its feet each only had three toes in total, seeming shaped to function more like  _ fingers  _ than standard toes. Its head was shaped in a disgusting, definitely  _ unnatural  _ v-shape that made Seventeen’s head rear back in disgust. It even appeared to have two  _ wings  _ jutting out from its back on either side, almost like that of a  _ beetle _ .

Overall, the creature was absolutely  _ revolting  _ to the android.

Whatever it was, it had just tried to  _ swallow  _ him, or at least, that what Seventeen had to assume was being done just before he’d been startled awake. 

Seventeen immediately raised a hand, a golden ball of energy forming at the center of his palm.

He watched the monstrosity scramble to its feet, opening its hands towards him. “W-wait!”

It can  _ speak?! _

_ Yeah,  _ ** _fuck that_ ** _ . _

Seventeen let loose the attack. He watched, satisfied as the energy blast tore through the monstrosity’s torso, splattering it’s viridescent innards against the tree behind it. The force of the attack sent the creature flying back for the second time before it collided with the strong wood.  
He watched as it slumped over, its eyes still open as it grew still. 

Seventeen slowly let his arm fall to his side, a disturbed frown resting on his lips as he assured himself that the threat was over. He stared at the dead body of...just what  _ was  _ that?

His head tilted to the side as he examined it. Curious, the android began to slowly approach. He crouched next to it, studying the dead body and studying its many intricacies with a morbid curiosity. He’d never seen anything like it before in his  _ life  _ despite considering himself a nature-buff, although he’d never actually admit that fact to anyone. 

“Where did you come from…?” Seventeen asked no one in particular. It looked like a science experiment gone wrong, gone very, _very _wrong.   
Seventeen’s gaze shifted to the gaping hole he’d left in the it’s chest. He cocked an eyebrow as he noticed the soupy fluids dribbling out from the wound.

_ Green blood? _

How strange. His icy blue eyes watched as the liquid spilled out just as it would for a normal man, threatening to stain his already ruined footwear as it pooled in the grass. Seventeen took a nervous step back, not willing to risk letting this  _ monster’s  _ blood touch him.

_ What if it’s like,  _ ** _acid _ ** _ or something? _

He’d seen that in a movie once. Was that even possible?   
After prodding the blood with a stick and coming to the conclusion that no, it _wasn’t _in fact acidic, Seventeen returned to a crouch at the dead creature’s side. Was it an alien? It certainly _looked _hideous enough to be one. Seventeen frowned, his head tilting to the side thoughtfully as he examined the corpse. He recalled years ago when he and his sister had encountered a being _sorta_ like this one, although far less _horrendous _in his opinion. It had bled blood of a strange color as well. Infact, if he was recalling correctly, he’d even seen it regrow its _arm _at one point of the fight. 

His hand cautiously reached out, still not entirely comfortable with being so close to a potential alien, and touched the corpse’s forearm. The texture was just how it had looked, grainy and hard, clearly a shell of some sort.  
He pulled his hand back, his eyes moved to study the alien’s face-!

He startled, scrambling to his feet in a hasty retreat.

_ It looked at me! _

He stared down at it’s vacant expression, not daring to blink as his chest rose and fell with nervousness. Once more, it appeared that it’s eyes were staring out at nothing, just as dead as it’d been moments earlier. Seventeen’s lips formed a thin line, not convinced he’d just imagined what he’d seen. It’s eyes had been trained on him, even meeting his own gaze for a moment, he was sure of it!

His gaze shifted to examine the wound in the creature’s chest once more. If it really  _ had  _ looked at him, how was it still alive with such a massive hole in its torso? There was no way something could survive such a wound, right? Perhaps he’d seen a nervous twitch, like a dead dog whose leg would tense or kick out involuntarily. The last sparks of life from a body that didn’t know it was already dead. Seventeen felt the tension in his shoulder’s ease as the idea formed. 

But he still wasn’t  _ entirely  _ convinced. A part of him wanted to make sure. To raise his hand and blast away every last shred of the creature’s body and be done with it. The people in the movies always made the mistake of studying whatever alien was brought aboard, only to have it come back and kill them all in the end. He’d always been silently wishing that they’d done the sensible thing in those early scenes of the movie, killing the alien properly without all the fascination that came with a new life form. 

Despite this line of reasoning, the android found himself hesitating. 

“...”

_ Am I  _ ** _really _ ** _ going to make the same mistake as the guys in the movies? _

Despite himself, he had to admit that the appearance of this seemingly random creature  _ was  _ something new, even if it had scared him half to death initially. Considering how little he’d had to occupy himself over the past week _ — _ hell, over the past  _ month _ , this was definitely a break from the monotony. It felt a shame to destroy it after  _ just  _ discovering it. Besides, it  _ was  _ already dead...right?

His expression hardened as he raised his hand once more. Energy formed within his palm once more. “If you’re still alive, you better get up now or else this next blast is going straight through your  _ head _ !” He commanded in a vicious snarl.

He waited several seconds, expecting the corpse to suddenly spring to life, to make a wild leap at his form in a desperate act to save itself. Instead, the corpse remained still, unblinking, unmoving. 

_ I’m being silly. It’s dead _ . 

His arm slowly fell to his side, the energy dissipating a moment later. His logic had been: if it could speak, and could plead for Seventeen to  _ not  _ tear a massive hole through its chest, then maybe he could simply threaten the creature into revealing itself. 

_ ...Unless it can also survive without its head… _

The thought came slowly to him. It was ridiculous, and a part of Seventeen knew that he was thinking _waaay _too much about this..._thing_, but it was also the first piece of excitement in his life ever since his sister’s betrayal. Besides, it wasn’t as if there were anyone around to _judge _him for over speculating after seeing something as hideous as this thing was.   
He thought back to moments earlier, to the glimpse of movement he’d caught in the creature’s eyes. Had he imagined it?

_ ...No. _

His mind, enhanced by the computer engineering implanted by Dr.Gero, could return to any part of his memory with crisp accuracy. 

He’d  _ definitely  _ seen it’s gaze lock onto him, if only for the briefest of moments. 

But, if it really  _ was  _ alive, then how could he make it reveal itself once more? Should he just keep firing blast after blast into it until it was unable to ignore him? What’s more, why did Seventeen even  _ want  _ to rouse the creature into wakefulness? Wasn’t this the part of the movie where the scientists were all attacked and killed for being idiots?

Seventeen scoffed. Ofcourse, none of those scientists had been a nigh-immortal being capable of leveling an entire city block at the flick of their wrist. Whatever this  _ thing  _ had been hadn’t put up much of a fight. Even if it did rise, he doubted he would be in any real danger. 

_ It even seemed  _ ** _scared _ ** _ of me… _

Just before he’d fired the beam into its chest, he’d seen true fear in the creature’s eyes. It was a look he was all too familiar with, one he’d seen written across hundreds of thousands of his victims over the past decade.

Intent on either forcing the disturbing looking alien to rise or destroying it, Seventeen raised his hand once more. He prepared himself to unleash a small barrage of beams, before another idea came to him.

He grinned.   
  


_ -Cell- _

_ This is  _ ** _bad_ ** _ . _

Cell could feel the warm liquid of his innards spilling out, coating the ground in a sickly green.   
_This is _**_really _**_bad._

Why was Android Seventeen just _standing _there like that? He needed desperately to restore the massive chunks of himself that had been blown away in the attack. It was all he could do to remain still, playing dead as he denied his healing factor from kicking in. How long could he stay like this? At some point, he would _have _to heal himself, regardless of whether or not Seventeen was watching him. He could not continue to bear such a mortal wound forever...or at least, he was pretty sure he couldn’t. The agony from doing so was absolute misery. He realized however, that the pain was far more tolerable compared to what he’d been through mere _hours _ago. 

_ I shouldn’t have tried this. _

Cell internally scolded himself for attempting something so foolish! He should have known that, at his current strength, there was no way for him to successfully absorb the android. The opportunity had just presented itself so  _ perfectly _ , he hadn’t been able to stop himself! 

Not daring to shift his gaze as he’d so stupidly done moments ago, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Seventeen was leveling his hand to fire even more blasts of energy into him. Cell pushed down his urge to flee. His only hope was that Seventeen would give him an opportunity to escape. Perhaps the android would blast him far enough away for him to make a hasty retreat? Ofcourse, there  _ was  _ the possibility that Seventeen was planning to simply blow  _ all of him  _ away in a single, massive blast. Cell knew that the android was certainly capable of such a feat.

_ Should I run? _

He didn’t know. He would need time to both heal himself and then to get away. If the android chose to take chase...he doubted there was much he could do to escape such a powerful being.

_ Stupid! _

He told himself again as he prepared for the worse.

Then, in a blink of the eye, Android Seventeen was gone.

_ ...What? _

Cell waited several seconds before daring to shift his gaze. His eyes moved back and forth searching for the dark-haired adolescent. He found nothing. Had the android lost interest in his corpse after studying him for so long? It seemed odd to Cell, so much so that he chose to wait several additional excruciating seconds in order to assure he was truly, finally alone.

Cell let out a gasp as the hole in his chest finally closed itself, his internal organs reforming in a matter of moments. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, letting out a grunt as a tail erupted from what was a stump moments before. The new limb glistening with green blood from the effort. 

He let out several, ragad gasps of air as he remained there. He couldn’t believe that had gone so poorly. Despite this, a part of him still felt his attempt could have been successful had things gone differently. 

Cell growled, his fingers digging into the grass and dirt in frustration. He’d been so close! After a short time, he let out a sigh, closing his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it now. At the very least, he’d managed to survive the encounter. That was something, right?

“Huh, so you really can heal yourself. Neat.”

Cell sucked in a sharp breath. His head snapped up towards the voice. His eyes bulged as he saw Seventeen hanging in the sky, looking down on him with a satisfied grin. How had he not seen him before? Had the Android been hiding?!

_ Run! _

Cell scrambled to his feet, dashing on all fours as fast as his still exhausted body could manage. He started towards the treeline. Maybe if he found a hiding place, a large bush or a crevice in the ground to crawl into he could-

He felt a foot hit the center of his back. His head cracked as he slammed down, his body forming a small crater from the impact. He felt Seventeen standing atop him now, pinning him to the ground with so much pressure he could feel his newly reformed backplate beginning to crack.

_ Not good! _

“Now, where do  _ you  _ think you’re going, Bug-boy?”

Cell grunted, struggling to draw breath as the foot sunk deeper into his back. He let out a gasp of pain. He began to panic. He couldn’t see any way to escape! He couldn’t die like this, not after how hard he’d fought to climb to the surface, could he? 

“That was a clever trick you pulled, playing dead and all. Got me thinking.” Seventeen’s foot sank even deeper, and Cell could hear his  _ spine  _ threatening to snap. “Just how much  _ damage  _ can I do before you  _ stop  _ healing? I’ve never had someone who could just pop back up like you did, not after taking a hit like that. I’m curious what I’ll have to do to  _ really  _ put you down.”

_ Think! _

Cell’s face was twisted to the side, one eye able to look up and over his shoulder at Seventeen. He could see the android’s dark grin, an evil enjoyment at the prospect of having a victim that could reform themself over and over again.

Well, until he  _ couldn’t  _ anymore. Cell had discovered his limits just earlier in the day, and he’d yet to fully restore his energy supply since then. He imagined it wouldn’t take long for Seventeen to reach that limit again.

His gaze darted back and forth, searching in a panic for anything he could use to forge an escape attempt. First, he looked behind the android, hoping there was something in the forest that might be the key to his rescue. He quickly determined that the river and fish wouldn’t be assisting him anytime soon. 

Seventeen raised a hand, a now familiar sphere of energy forming before his palm. Cell stared, terrified at the ball of ki, before the raised arm made him notice something. His gaze shifted, focusing on the android’s right side, on his  _ missing  _ arm.

Could he use that? 

Cell’s mind raced, searching for something,  _ anything  _ to prevent his demise. 

“Wait!” He hissed out.

“Is that the only word you know, Bug-boy?” Seventeen snickered, his arm still posed to blast. “I think I’ll start with...your legs.”

“Your arm!” he called out frantically.

He watched as Seventeen wavered, frowning as his eyes darted to the missing limb. “What? What about it? You only  _ just  _ noticed it was gone?”

“No!” Cell stammered, his mind scrambling to form ideas. Seventeen had been back at Dr.Gero’s lab, searching for ‘blueprints’ as he called it. Was it possible that he’d been searching for them so that he could  _ fix  _ himself? 

It made sense to Cell. The papers had been rather detailed in regards to the inner workings of their design. Even if he hadn’t been able to  _ read  _ the words, he had been able to surmise the nature of the document from the detailed pictures. He’d assumed that android Eighteen had taken them for the same purpose, but for whatever reason, the two were separate, and Seventeen was  _ still  _ broken. Was it possible that the two were no longer working together? Had Eighteen  _ not  _ brought the blueprints back to her brother?

_ What if… _

“If-” Cell swallowed nervously. “If you...let me go…” The words came out slowly. Speech wasn’t something Cell had been given a lot of chances to practice. “I can... _ fix _ ...your arm.”

He watched the android suddenly grow still, his eyes widening in shock. Finally, he sneered. “Liar. You’re just trying to save your own skin. I bet you’d say anything to get me to lift my foot and give you a second chance to run away.” 

The android’s hand leveled towards Cell’s legs once more.

“Not true!” Cell shouted hastily. “I-I…” He trailed off. How could he convince him? It  _ had  _ been a lie. What could he possibly say that would suggest he was telling the truth? “I was made… by Dr.Gero...like  _ you _ .”

He saw Seventeen freeze at the mention of that name. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “So you know the doctor’s name, that’s cute. How come I don’t remember seeing any disgusting bug creatures in Gero’s lab then?”

“Hidden…basement.” He felt the words were right. “Born...there. He kept me...secret.”

He could see a thoughtful expression on Seventeen’s face, clearly trying to work out if his words were true. “So...you really  _ are  _ a science experiment gone wrong.” He let out a dark laugh, his hand falling to his side. “But that still doesn’t explain how you’d be able to  _ fix  _ me. What, did Dr.Gero program you with knowledge on how to fix robot arms?” He shook his head, scoffing. “Sounds too good to be true. If you really are another creation of that  _ monster _ , then all you’ve done is given me another reason to kill you.” Seventeen’s hand began to glow.

“I’ve seen the blueprints!” Cell shouted frantically.

This drew a pause.   
“Where?” the android asked eagerly. Cell felt a noticeable amount of weight lift off of his back, although the foot still pinned him to the ground.

“Back...at Dr.Gero’s...lab.” Cell noted that his tail was still free. Perhaps if he coiled it  _ behind  _ Seventeen, he could possibly…

_ No, bad idea. _

He’d already tried that, and that had been with while Seventeen had been  _ asleep _ . Trying now would be a death sentence. It was just Dr.Gero’s hard wired instincts trying to get him to attempt once more.

“Impossible.” Seventeen scowled. “I checked everywhere in that damn lab.”

“You did not...check...the basement.” Cell said with a slight coyness to his voice.

He caught Seventeen’s eyes growing wide at the revelation. His face lit with a smile a moment later.

_ I have him. _

- _ Seventeen- _

Was it really possible? Seventeen could feel his bottom lip trembling, the words still ringing in his ears. 

_ The blueprints! My ticket to my old life, it’s still there! _

With those, it wouldn’t matter who he chose to fix his arm. They’d have a format to follow, like the instructions to a lego set, he figured. All he would have to do was find a competent enough scientist he could bully—one with a family preferably—and bam, he’d have his arm back!

The young man sucked in a sharp, excited breath of air. He could still fix this!

“You know where they are?” He asked, unable to mask the urgency in his voice.

He watched the creature hesitate, it seemed to be contemplating something.

“...No.”

_ What? But he’d just said- _

“Why not?!” He demanded, pressing back down. 

It gasped in pain. It was  _ certainly  _ durable, whatever it was. “They were...taken. By Android...Eighteen.”

Seventeen’s jaw went slack. His sister had them? How? When? Why hadn’t she tried to reach out to him if she really  _ did  _ have such valuable documents? Didn’t she know that she held the key to his old self’s revival? 

He blinked. His eyes narrowed on the deformed humanoid beneath him. “When did this happen?”

“I…” A pause. Despite it’s bug-like features, Seventeen could just  _ vaguely  _ read  _ confusion  _ on the monster’s face. “I’m not...sure.”

Not sure? Did it not know what  _ days  _ were? Had it been more than that? Had it been  _ weeks  _ since Eighteen had taken the blueprints _ ? _

“Well, you better start thinking  _ real  _ hard about it.” He stomped down harder. There was a loud  _ snapping  _ sound as he felt his foot sink into the creature’s torso. “Because I’m pretty sure your life depends on it.” he hissed.

It let out a pained, gurgling sound before screeching out. “A week ago!” Seventeen eased the pressure off it’s back. “I think…it’s been a week. She destroyed the lab...with me inside. I only  _ just _ …climbed out…of the rubble.”

Seventeen cocked an eyebrow at that part. This thing had survived his sister’s attack? Had she and it fought? She  _ must  _ have if she’d found the blueprints within whatever this secret basement had been.

_ Damn, this thing is pretty durable if it managed to survive sis. _

His curiosity to discover just how much damage he could do to it until it _actually _died grew. Seventeen smirked, shaking his head. Foolish monster, it likely thought it had saved its life by telling him this news. Now that he knew that his sister had the blueprints, it was merely a matter of finding a phone and calling her. It occurred to him that the _reason _she hadn’t reached out to him yet, was that she didn’t have a _means _to. His phone had been destroyed in the conflict between him and that _scum _Blondie. He’d yet to find another one, and even if he had, she wouldn’t have known the number to call. She’d likely gone to investigate Dr.Gero’s lab herself, hoping to find a way to restore him after feeling guilty about turning against him, _as she should!_ A part of Seventeen was still angry at her about the fact she’d betrayed him, but he supposed he could let that anger die since she’d actually _found _the blueprints.

_ Good job, sis. _

He regarded the likely  _ paralyzed  _ being beneath his foot. He’d heard cracks like that before from humans, a broken spine. He didn’t need it now. He could just blow it away with a blast of energy and be rid of it.

He leveled a hand at the creature’s back. 

“W-wait!” It pleaded once more. Seriously, he was getting tired of its raspy, gravely voice. “I said-”

“I know what you said.” He scoffed. “You shouldn’t have told me Eighteen took the blueprints. If she has them, then I don’t  _ need  _ you.” 

He saw that look of confusion cross it’s features once more, before it closed its eyes reverently. “I thought...that you two…were not connected...anymore. I was...wrong.”

Seventeen paused at that comment. He blinked, frowning. Despite its clear lack of knowledge on the situation, it did have a point. 

** _Is _ ** _ sis still on my side? _

He’d assumed immediately that Eighteen would hand over the blueprints, but would she? He couldn’t imagine another reason for her to search them out other than to help him, but what if she hadn’t been doing that? What if…

_ What if she took them to make sure that  _ ** _I _ ** _ wouldn’t find them? _

The thought was jarring, and one that he couldn’t accept despite his sister’s betrayal. A part of Seventeen still instinctively trusted her, even if he knew that he shouldn’t. If Eighteen truly was on the side of Blondie—the mere thought made Seventeen snarl in disgust—then that meant the only chance he had at repairing his arm was this  _ thing _ beneath his foot.

_ Assuming it’s telling the truth. _

This could all just be a weave of lies he realized, one it’d fabricated in a desperate attempt to save itself. Either way, Seventeen found himself unwilling to risk it.

“Lucky day, Creepy, you’re not dying today.” He withdrew his foot, taking a step back and watching as its eyes snapped open in surprise. He needed to find a phone and talk to his sister. If she told him that she  _ was  _ planning to help him as she  _ should _ , then he could dispose of this vile creature. If not…

Seventeen scowled. He didn’t like picturing the image of this thing working on his arm.

“Heal yourself already.” He demanded, noticing that he  _ had  _ been correct in his assessment of the creature’s spine. There was a long pause before it sucked in air, a loud  _ pop  _ sounding from it’s back before it began to slowly rise to its feet. 

It met Seventeen’s gaze, a nervous look in its eyes.

“C’mon.” He beckoned, stepping past the monstrosity. He shot it a dangerous glare. “You’re coming with me.”

- _ Cell- _

_ What changed? _

Had it been something he said? Moments ago, Seventeen had seemed intent on  _ killing  _ him. Now it appeared, he wanted him to tag along?

“Can you fly?” Seventeen asked, looking over his shoulder at Cell.

Cell swallowed nervously. He could see  _ death  _ in those eyes. “No.” He answered flatly. The skill had evaded him so far. He imagined it would come to him in due time, once he’d acquired enough strength from his victims to figure it out.

Seventeen scowled at the information, his eyes scanning the forest surrounding them. “Guess we have to do this the old fashion way…” 

The android began to march, his hand balled into a fist. It seemed he was aggravated at being forced to walk to whatever their destination was. 

Speaking of which…

“Where… are we...going?” Cell asked hesitantly as he began to hastily crawl alongside Seventeen, keeping pace.

“To find a phone.” Seventeen answered coldly before shooting a deprecatory look at Cell. “Can you not walk on your feet?”

“I…” Cell paused, considering the question. “It is...easier for me… this way.”

“Walk normal, Fuck-face. You’re creeping me out.”

Cell growled in annoyance but obeyed the command. Slowly, he pushed himself until he was balancing on his two legs in a hunched over fashion. Far less efficient this way of walking was. He much preferred scuttling on the ground. It allowed him to travel faster, as well as keep a low profile whenever he hunted.

He struggled to keep up with Seventeen’s eager pace as they traveled, often stumbling and prompting mocking remarks from the android. Cell mumbled to himself each time, but kept his annoyed comments to himself, now knowing the android’s temper all too well. 

Cell’s eyes darted towards the forest life surrounding them. Should he attempt to escape? He knew that the androids did not have a means to track life energy, a deliberate flaw Dr.Gero had designed in them. If he managed to break line of sight, he  _ did  _ have a chance at escaping. 

Cell caught a sideways glance from Seventeen, one of many throughout their duration together. No, it would be a poor choice to try and escape now, when Seventeen was the most focused on his new prisoner. He knew by those looks that the android was keeping a sharp eye on him, and was likely paying attention to his every move via the enhanced senses the great Dr.Gero had granted him. 

_ I’ll have to wait for a moment… _

He’d get one, he knew it to be true. Perhaps if he built up enough repor with the android he’d gain a chance to flee, building the idea that Seventeen didn’t have to watch him so closely. Cell decided to follow behind dutifully, waiting for his moment to escape.

He could not tell exactly how much time had passed in silence. The sun had finally fallen behind the horizon, coating the duo in darkness as the moon took its place in the sky.

“So…” Seventeen began, clearly bored by their slow progress. “You got a name, Ugly?”

“Cell.” he responded flatly.

“Cell?” Seventeen repeated with a frown. “Kinda a boring name dontcha think? I thought you’d be called something creepier, y’know, given how  _ hideous  _ you are.”

Cell grumbled but did not respond to the comment.

Eventually, Seventeen’s voice rose again. “So, what’s your deal, Bug-boy?”

“My...deal?” Cell cocked his head. Was he asking to form a deal with him? He hadn’t thought he had any say in this arrangement.  
“Y’know,” Seventeen motioned with his hand. “Like, what are you? You said Dr.Gero made you, right? Why? And like…” he frowned, cocking his head. “Just _how _did Dr.Gero make you? If I’m remembering right, I’m pretty sure I spiked his head into the wall back at the lab like, a decade ago.”

“I…” Cell paused. Should he withhold this information? Was it dangerous to share this knowledge with what was still very much his enemy, even if they’d come to a truce he still didn’t fully understand?

_ Talking could give me a chance to escape. _

Perhaps if Seventeen grew comfortable enough in their conversation, he’d stop watching so carefully and allow Cell to slip away.

The idea was as good as any.

“I am Dr.Gero’s... _ ultimate _ creation.” Cell began, “I am...the combination...of all the strongest people...that once lived.”

Seventeen snorted. “And you came out looking like  _ that _ ?” He raised an eyebrow, surveying Cell up and down. “Guess it must be like when you mix all the colors together and you come out with shit-brown, because  _ damn _ . You’re one  _ ugly  _ fuck, you know that, right?”

Cell grumbled, his hands tightening to fists at the mockery.

“Besides,” Seventeen continued, “for being the doc’s ‘ultimate creation’ you sure are weak. I kicked your ass in like, two seconds flat. I still remember you wailing like a baby for me not to kill you.” The android let out a laugh, his head falling back as he did. “I’m guessing whatever Gero was going for, he failed when he came out with  _ you _ .”

Cell angrily hissed back. “I am not yet  _ complete _ !” He was boiling with rage, both at the fact that he was being mocked, and the fact that he could physically do  _ nothing  _ to stop it. “I need to...grow,  _ consume _ until...I become  _ perfect _ .”

“Huh,” Seventeen’s voice grew less derisive as he shot a sideways glance over his shoulder. His eyes scanned the long tail trailing behind Cell. “I’m guessing by the fact that you tried to swallow me earlier,  _ that’s  _ how you ‘consume’ people?” He gestured towards the appendage. 

Cell slowly nodded in response. He didn’t like revealing his nature to what was so clearly a threat to his survival. Unfortunately, he imagined that if he were to try to withhold this information, it would result in a less than pleasant response from the temperamental android. 

“So, I get the what, but I still don’t understand the  _ how _ .” He cocked an eyebrow at Cell. “How’d Dr.Gero make you? Y’know, with him being dead and all.” 

“I was made before his death...beneath the lab. Grown slowly...in a tube for years, I think. I broke free...when I awoke.” The words were getting easier for him now. The practice he realized was good for his voice, if not a little taxing. 

_ So...hungry. _

He’d been doing his best to keep up with the never waving pace of the android, but his stamina was wearing thin. After having to survive Seventeen’s lethal attacks, his already drained energy supply had dwindled to almost nothing. 

He had to keep his mind off it. Looking for something to distract himself, his gaze fell on the missing portion of Seventeen’s arm. 

“...How did you...lose your arm?”

He saw a flash of anger cross Seventeen’s face in response. Cell found himself panicking as the android shot him a dangerous look . “That’s none of your business, Shit-stain.”

Cell quickly nodded before the pair fell into silence once more.

“So, how do you plan on fixing my arm without the blueprints my sis has?” Seventeen asked, the jovial tone from before now gone.

Cell paused. The lie had come to him in a panic, now he had to authenticate it...somehow.

“I memorized...them.” He answered plainly.

Seventeen stopped, his frown deepening as he turned to Cell. “You  _ what? _ ”

Cell froze, his eyes wide as he stared down the glare from the android. “I...stared at both...for a long time. I remember them...completely.” It was the truth. He  _ had  _ examined the depictions of androids Seventeen and Eighteen when they had been pinned to his wall back at the lab. He’d stared at them, fantasizing about the day he’d be able to finally absorb each of  _ his  _ components into himself and achieve  _ perfection _ .

“You’re telling me you remember every single part? You can recall with picture perfect accuracy how to put me back together? Because I’m not feeling very reassured about someone trying to fix me over a  _ memory _ .” 

Cell felt himself growing nervous from the intensity of Seventeen’s glare. How could he convey to the android that he  _ had  _ memorized each picture, even if he still didn’t  _ quite  _ know what the strange symbols written on them meant. Despite that fact, he could still remember  _ exactly  _ how the symbols looked and the order they’d been in. Dr.Gero had given him a perfect  _ mind  _ as well as the promise of one day achieving a perfect form. He could lock away memories at a single glance, let alone an image of something he’d been staring at longingly for  _ years _ . He pictured he’d even be able to recreate it if given something to draw with. Although, he realized doing so would mean that Seventeen would no longer need him after the fact, and decided to not share this truth.

“Dr.Gero...gave me perfect...memory. I can even see it now...if I try.”

Seventeen paused, mulling the words over for a time before nodding and accepting the answer. He turned, and the two fell into step once more.

Suddenly, Seventeen stopped, his eyebrows furrowing before shooting a hostile glance towards Cell.

Cell froze in response.

“What exactly do you like to eat with that tail of yours?”

Cell’s eyebrows furrowed. Why did it matter?

“living...things.”

“ _ Just  _ living things? You don’t eat metal or something?”

Cell shook his head.

“So riddle me this, Cell. You told me that you’ve memorized pics of me and my sis, so you know we’re part machine,  _ right _ ?”

Cell, frowning—or rather, doing his best impression of a frown, slowly nodded.

“ _ So, _ ” Seventeen continued with a narrowed gaze. “Why’d you try and eat me back there if you knew who I was, Bug-boy? Shouldn’t you have known I've got a shit-ton of metal bits inside me? ” 

Cell’s amber eyes grew wide as he realized the implication. Seventeen was drawing  _ dangerously  _ close to stumbling upon his  _ true  _ purpose in the grand scheme of things. Drawing upon the experience he’d had with Eighteen, he knew that revealing the truth could quite possibly lead to his  _ death _ .

_ I must lie. _

“I had only just...recovered...from Eighteen’s attack on me.” He swallowed, choosing his next words carefully. “I need  _ food  _ in order to... _ think _ . My head was...foggy, when I saw you. I could not...remember...your face...at the time.”

He lowered his gaze. He quietly prayed that his lie was enough for Seventeen to overlook this discrepancy.

“Hmm…” He could feel the heat of the android’s glare on him. “Alright, I guess that makes more sense. You still haven’t eaten anything, so you’re saying right now you’re kinda stupid?”

Cell frowned at the insult, but nodded.

“Is that why you’re talking all slow-like?”

Another nod. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but close enough. 

“Hmmm.”

Seventeen turned his back, seemingly ending their conversation as he continued down their unmarked path. Cell followed shortly behind.

Another hour passed before illumination ahead indicated they’d finally reached a proper city. 

“Hmm…” Seventeen squented at the sight before shooting a glance towards Cell, who immediately flinched from the gaze. 

“You can’t go invisible or something, can you?” 

Cell cocked his head. Why would he be able to turn invisible? How ridiculous. He shook his head.

Seventeen let out an annoyed sigh, tapping his foot in thought.

Finally, he spun, facing Cell with a deep, hateful glare. Cell scrambled back, terrified that he’d somehow prompted the android’s wrath once more.

“I can’t bring you with me inside the city.” Seventeen began, “You’re too hideous to hide, and if someone saw you it’d cause a panic.” There was a pause. “I...I don’t want attention being drawn to me right now.” Cell’s eyes narrowed. He could tell there was something going unsaid there. What was it? “So, you’re gonna stay here, got it?”

Cell’s eyes widened. His opening! He’d been right to be patient. He’d finally be able to escape!

“And, before you start getting any ‘bright ideas’, I want you to know that  _ you,  _ unfortunately, are possibly my only chance at fixing my arm. Which means that if you  _ do  _ try and run away, which I have no doubt you’re thinking about doing the moment I fly off, then I will  ** _hunt. You. Down_ ** .” He said the final words with a sharpness to his tone that made Cell shudder. “Keep in mind Bug-boy, I don’t need to  _ sleep _ if I don’t want to. I can spend literally every waking moment hunting down your failed science-experiment-looking ass. I  _ promise _ , I’ll eventually find you, and if you make me do that, you’ll be in for far,  _ far  _ worse than what I did to you back there by the river.” 

Seventeen stepped forward. His hand snapped out and seized Cell by the neck before raising him. Immediately, Cell felt pressure on his windpipe. Despite being over a head taller than the android, Cell found his feet lifting off the ground a moment later. “Do I make myself  _ clear _ .”

Cell nodded eagerly, unable to draw enough breath to form a verbal response.

“Good.”

Seventeen’s hand released Cell, causing him to fall several feet to the ground. Cell coughed, looking up and realizing Seventeen had lifted into the air during their exchange. 

“Now stay put.”

Turning, Seventeen blasted towards the lights of the city. 

- _ Seventeen- _

The android slowly landed within a darkened alleyway in the center of what he thought was East City. He was still wearing the clothes he’d been wearing during his visit to that  _ idiot  _ Dr.Challenger: a simply dark-colored hoodie paired with some ripped jeans. He realized as he pulled the hood over his head that his forearm and knees were still stained with the doctor’s blood, although it had turned a nasty brown since then. He supposed it didn’t matter all that much. 

The streets were empty as he stepped out under the tall street lamps. The only other source of light was the moon, resting comfortably within the night sky. 

His eyes scanned the sidewalk ahead before turning to look the opposite way. He needed a payphone, or he supposed he could  _ rob  _ someone for their phone instead. The only problem was there was absolutely  _ no one  _ on the streets right now. Just how late was it?

_ Pay phone it is. _

He began to quickly walk down the road, eyeing both sides of the street for a gas station, or any other structure that would have the device. He knew he needed to be quick about this. He didn’t trust Cell to remain where he was, despite his threat. He expected he would need to hunt down the Horror-show once he was done with this call. That meant he had to make sure Cell didn’t have  _ too  _ much of a head start...assuming things went poorly with his sister.

_ They won't. _

He had to reassure himself. He found that he wasn’t entirely convinced.

He noticed a slumped over figure on the side of the road, a cardboard sign that read ‘anything helps’ in black marker just behind a large mug . It was clear the man had passed out from intoxication, judging by the half empty liquor bottle sitting next to him.

_ Perfect. _

Seventeen nimbly swooped down, snatching the cup which rattled with coins inside. He emptied the zeni into his hand before tossing the mug away.

Finally, his eyes landed on a payphone jutting out from the brick wall of a gas station with a glowing ‘closed’ sign hanging on its window. Seventeen hasted over to it, running at a sprint before pulling out a handful of coins from his pocket.

He punched in the numbers carefully. He didn’t want to mess up and accidentally call the wrong person.

He slowly raised the old style phone to his ear, listened as the phone rang.

_ Please pick up. _

He felt himself growing nervous. What should he say? It’d already been over a month since they’d last spoke, since they’d fought. 

_ ‘Hey, sis! Long time no see, eh?’ _

No, that sounded stupid.

‘ _ Betcha didn’t expect to hear from me, huh? I know, I know, you missed me, right?’ _

No, too arrogant.

He frowned, slowly shaking his head. Nothing seemed right to him as he listened to the phone ring once, then twice, then-

“Hello?”

He sucked in a sharp breath.

_ Eighteen. _

“Hellooooooo?” She repeated in a sing-song voice. She sounded... _ nicer _ , somehow. He’d always heard her tone as sharper, more cold and apathetic. Somehow, it sounded more... _ human _ , then he last remembered. “If someone doesn’t start talking I’m gonna hang up-”

“Wait!” He suddenly stammered out, clutching the phone tightly in his hand. “It’s…” He sighed, closing his eyes. “It’s me.”

There was silence on the other end.

“Hey…Seventeen.” Her previously light-hearted tone disappeared. What to say first? He felt like there were a thousand things they should discuss. Should he apologize? Should ask how she’d been doing without him? Any new hobbies? Damn! He realized as he stood there awkwardly that he should have planned this conversation out before he’d called.

“How have you been?” He could hear a genuine concern in her words as she spoke.

“I’ve been fine.” He swallowed, before adding. “And yourself?”

“I’m...good.”

Seventeen felt a smile pull at his lips. “I’m glad to hear that. What are you doing up so late?”

“Don’t have to sleep, remember?” He could picture her shooting him a coy look from the hilt in her voice, one that said ‘you’re a dumbass’ in that way she always did.

“Right.” He let out a soft chuckle. “So, what are you up to now?”

“Eh, just trying out a new outfit. I think it looks pretty good on me.”

Seventeen snorted. “Shoulda known you’d be spending all your time trying on clothes.”

“Hey, a woman has got to accessorize. I bet you’re in some raggedy looking jeans and a hoodie or something.” 

Seventeen glanced down at his clothes, raising his eyebrows at her accuracy. “Touché.”

He heard the woman laugh lightly on the other end, before eventually falling to silence. Seventeen found himself unable to speak as well. There was so much to be said, emotions that had yet to be expressed. 

“What made you call me, Seventeen?”

Straight to the point. Seventeen appreciated that about his sister. 

“I…” he trailed off, a part of him feeling guilty that he hadn’t called sooner, to make up, to check on her like a good brother ought to. Another part of him was curious why she hadn’t mentioned the blueprints yet.

“I know you have my blueprints, Eighteen.”

Silence.

“What?”

“The blueprints from the lab. I know you got them, and I wanted to know where I could meet you to get them.”

“How do you…?” he could sense confusion from her tone. She clearly didn’t understand  _ how  _ he’d come to know this information. 

Seventeen drew a breath to tell her, but then thought otherwise. Should he reveal the existence of Cell? Could he even  _ trust  _ her at this point? He still didn’t have an answer to that question.

“It doesn’t matter. I know you have them. I just want to have my arm fixed, Eighteen.”

“...I…” The woman fell silent.

Seventeen frowned. Why hadn’t she offered them already? What was causing her to wait? He found himself growing nervous at her hesitation.

“I  _ deserve  _ those blueprints.” He demanded. “ _ You  _ are the reason I lost my arm, Eighteen. It’s only right you give me my chance at getting it back.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for what happened, but-”

“But?!” Seventeen’s voice began to rise. “There is no ‘but’! You broke my arm, now you gotta fix it.” 

“ I don’t ‘got’ to do anything, Seventeen!” She snapped back.

He blinked, recognizing the venom in her words. What was he doing?! She held the key to his repairs and he was  _ yelling  _ at her?

_ I need to go about this differently. _

“Eighteen,” He began much softer this time. “I’m your  _ brother.  _ I  _ love  _ you, more than anything else in this world. It’s always been you and me against the world. I always got your back, no matter what. I’m…” He sighed, letting his forehead rest against the wall before him. “I’m sorry. I know I broke my promise before. I just-I just lost my temper. You know me, I blow my top sometimes, but, that doesn’t mean you aren’t my sister. I still care for you, even if I was mad at you before.” He tried to make his words as genuine as possible, even if he didn’t  _ wholly  _ believe it should be  _ he  _ who was apologizing right now. “I promise that after we put this behind us, after we fix my arm, that everything that happened will just be water under the bridge. Things will go back to  _ normal  _ again, just you and me, being awesome like we’ve always been.” He smiled. “I  _ miss  _ you, Eighteen.”

He could hear silence on the other end. 

“I miss you too, bro.” she finally said.

His smile broadened. 

“But I’m  _ not  _ giving you the blueprints.”

His face fell.

“What?!” he growled.

“You’ll just go back to the old you. You’ll try and attack the city again, and Gohan will-”

“ _ Gohan _ .” He hissed the name as he cut her off. “So, that’s what this is all  _ really  _ about. Let me guess, you and him are still going strong?” he spoke mockingly.

He heard her growl on the other end. “It’s not like that, Seventeen!”

“Then tell me what it  **is ** like!” he spat. “Explain to me what exactly is going on to make you act this way!”

“I-” Her voice caught in her throat. After a few seconds, she continued. “It’s complicated.”

Seventeen let out a dark laugh. “Oh, I’m sure it is.” he said in an incredulous tone. “Why are you being like this, Eighteen?! What is  _ wrong  _ with you?! Everything was so perfect before! Everything was exactly how it should be, how it's always been. Then, all of a sudden you spin around and start-”

“I don’t want to  _ destroy  _ anymore, Seventeen!” Eighteen suddenly shouted back.

Seventeen’s voice caught in his throat.

“I’m tired of it! We’ve spent  _ years  _ killing, destroying, tearing the world apart just for the fun of it. When did we get this way, Seventeen? We didn’t start out like this, not at first. Do you ever think about that? The man you used to be back then?”

“We weren’t Mr and Ms.Goody-two-shoes before Dr.Gero changed us, Eighteen.” He hissed.

“But we weren’t  _ murderers  _ either!” she exclaimed. “Yeah, we stole things, we beat people up sometimes. Hell, we were  _ really  _ cruel to some people, but never like  _ this _ .” She let out a sigh. “We got so wrapped up in doing anything we  _ could _ , that we never stopped to think if we  _ should _ .”

“You’re acting  _ ridiculous _ , Eighteen.” He scoffed. “The world can’t stop us if we  _ work together _ . The world belongs to  _ us _ , it’s our  _ right  _ to do with it as we please.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” She answered in a quieter tone. “I...I can’t see things like that anymore.”

“...Why?” Seventeen asked slowly, dumbfounded by his sister’s response. How? How could she be saying these words? Who was this person who’d stolen his sister’s voice?

“Do you remember that time at the diner? Back when we were human? They were playing on the new’s how most of East City had just been destroyed by those two aliens.”

Seventeen blinked, his cybernetically enhanced mind recalling the memory immediately. Where was she going with this?

“Yeah…? What about it?”

“You remember how they were gone in just a day? One day we had this worldwide threat, and then  _ poof _ , it went away.”

Seventeen raised an eyebrow. He  _ had  _ remembered being confused by what had seemed like an Earth shattering event, only for it to disappear immediately thereafter.

“What about it?”

“It was Goku and his friends who saved us from those two, Seventeen.” Her voice was solemn. “The same men we killed.”

“So…?” 

“ _ So _ , we had a choice to make back then, before we became the people we are today. We could have  _ chosen  _ to become like  _ them _ . Instead…” She trailed off before letting out a soft sigh. “We chose to become  _ monsters _ .”

“...You wish we could have been like them? Dumb heroes that never did anything with their powers but risk their lives and get zero reward for it? They were  _ fools _ , Eighteen. They could have claimed the world for themselves long ago, but they didn’t. That’s their loss.”

“Or...maybe it’s ours.” 

“...What?” Seventeen shook his head. That made no sense!

“I came to the realization a while back that this life we live...it has no future. All we do is destroy, Seventeen. Eventually, there will stop being things for us to destroy. Eventually, all we’ll have left is each other, and a desolate, devastated world. What then, Seventeen? What do you think we’ll do when  _ we  _ are all that’s left?”

“I…” His voice died in his throat. He didn’t know. He’d never given it any thought.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll just destroy  _ ourselves  _ at that point, Seventeen. We’ll probably blow up the planet out of boredom, and ourselves with it. That’s where this is all leading towards, I’m sure of it.”

“...You asked me to take a break...is  _ this  _ why?”

“It is, and once I stopped destroying, once I started to look around and see the world around me as more than just a... _ play thing _ …I realized that I didn’t  _ want  _ to keep destroying. I couldn’t, not anymore. Not with the knowledge that one day, brother, I’d end up killing you, or you killing me.” He could hear a tremble to her voice. Was she crying? “So, I’m sorry. No, I can’t give you back your arm. I can’t go back to the way things were. I love you, but I just can’t.”

And with that, he heard a beep as the call ended. 

He kept the phone to his ear, listening to the subtle hum of the dead line as he stared dumbfounded at the wall before him. His jaw was slack, his vision unfocused as he slowly pulled the phone away and set it back on its hitch with a click. 

He felt...empty. He felt like his whole world had been flipped upside down,  _ again _ . A part of him had been  _ certain  _ she’d hand the blueprints over. He’d been certain that she’d come to meet him, that she’d want to help fix him like a good sister  _ should _ .

Instead, she’d  _ betrayed  _ him... **again.**

His fingers closed into a fist. His entire body trembled as his teeth clenched, his face twisting into a vicious  _ snarl _ .

** _No!_ **

He slammed his fist forward, smashing it into the brick wall before him. The wall gave out immediately, crashing inward and sending a cloud of dust up in a flash.

_ Fine then! If she doesn’t want to help me, if she wants to turn her back on me like this, I’ll find my  _ ** _own way_ ** _ ! _

He slowly rose into the air, twisting until he was facing back the way he’d come. He already  _ had  _ his own way.

He flew off. He didn’t care about what she’d said. It was all foolishness. Nonsense that Blondie had somehow gotten into her head. Once  **he ** was dead and gone, things would go back to normal.

He frowned.

They had to.   
  


_ -Cell- _

Cell sat quietly beneath the vastness of stars resting overhead. His stomach no longer rumbled, as he’d managed to catch an unfortunate hound which had stumbled too close to his resting place. He appreciated the meal, as his mind always felt clearest directly following a victim. His immediate instinct upon Seventeen’s departure had been to flee. He’d even started towards the underbrush the moment the android had turned his back.

But something had made him hesitate. Seventeen’s threat had been a very  _ real  _ one. The android didn’t have to sleep. He could search tirelessly for however many days or weeks or even  _ years  _ it took him to find Cell. 

_ I’m not getting stronger fast enough… _

If Seventeen  _ did  _ discover him again against all odds, Cell knew he wouldn’t be powerful enough to confront the android. Sure, he may have some new tricks by then, but he didn’t have even a delusional thought that he would be able to get away a second time. It would take him many,  _ many  _ years before he had absorbed enough victims to challenge the android. He knew this to be fact, especially with how low the human population was due to the siblings rampage. 

Despite this knowledge, he’d still rationalized that fleeing was his best option. Even if Seventeen would be searching for him, it was unlikely he would actually  _ find  _ him, especially if he were being careful.

Yet, he remained.

No, it wasn’t Seventeen’s  _ threat  _ which led Cell to stay. 

It was the tantalizing, teasing  _ possibility _ that this relationship between he and Seventeen could lead to his  _ ascendance. _

He shivered in delight at the thought. Perhaps, in due time, he could lower Seventeen’s guard around him. He already thought that Cell couldn’t properly digest him, didn’t he? He’d have no fear of betrayal, even if he’d made it abundantly clear how little he thought of Cell’s…  _ looks _ .

_ What about his arm? _

He’d initially  _ lied  _ about being able to restore the man’s limb. However, the more Cell thought about it, the more he began to question if it really  _ was  _ a lie. Dr.Gero  _ had  _ granted him a powerful, super-human brain that could rationalize and mediate far faster than any  _ human  _ could. It had gotten him this far, hadn’t it? He imagined that, with enough  _ victims  _ to swallow, he could  _ theoretically  _ learn enough to begin work on Seventeen’s arm. He predicted Seventeen wouldn’t be happy about that fact. He would be expecting them to begin work on his missing limb immediately. Explaining to the easily angered android that he would need  _ several  _ additional victims to further his mind would likely result in a brutal retaliation from Seventeen. He doubted the android would attempt to kill him, however. The android  _ needed  _ him after all, didn’t he?

He hadn’t been lying when he told Seventeen that he remembered every miniscule detail in regards to the two posters_—_no_—blueprints _which had hung on his wall for all that time. Besides, he actually _wanted _Seventeen’s arm repaired. He wanted to assure that when it did finally come time to consume the android, Cell wasn’t absorbing a potentially weaker version, and subsequently becoming a weaker version of his _own _perfection_._ He _needed _Seventeen to be complete, in order to assure his own completion. 

Cell jumped as something impacted with the ground before him. He frowned, cocking his head at what appeared to be...a person? An old man, with dirtied, worn and stained clothing. He stunk, reeking of the same substance he’d found on that unconscious man he’d absorbed weeks prior.

His neck was broken.

“I need you to be smart if you’re gonna work on my arm.” Seventeen’s voice called out from above. Cell looked up, meeting his gaze. He looked  _ livid _ , staring down on Cell with the coldest glare he’d ever seen.

“ ** _Eat._ ** ”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s notes:
> 
> Welcome back all! I’m sorry for such a long wait this time around. I didn’t intend for it. Truthfully, the break was due to issues I’m having with my other story, The Nobody of Remnant. My passion for writing the project has declined with the recent installments of the canon franchises, and the attempt to force myself led to my motivation to write at all dying entirely. After weeks of getting nothing done with that story, I finally decided to return to this project, and wouldn’t you know it, the spark to write returned almost immediately.   
That being said, I plan to focus more intently on this story for the time being. I plan to let The Nobody of Remnant sit, at least until the passion to return to that project returns as it no doubt will. This story is simply too fascinating to let rest, and I find myself planning for its future constantly (I already have chapter 18 mapped out in my head. As well as 19...and 20...and 21…).  
I digress.  
This installment was an interesting one to write. I wanted to devote the chapter to our villains, especially given how much of an impact the newly forged relationship between Seventeen and Cell will have in the future. While I felt this chapter focused more so on Seventeen, Cell was extremely interesting to write from. I wanted to convey that while ignorant, he is by no means stupid in this youthful stage of his life. He is meant to be the ‘perfect’ being, and that to me suggests being extremely intelligent.  
The conversation between Eighteen and Seventeen I think was very much the high point of the chapter. It was tricky trying to determine just how these two characters would talk to each other after so long apart, but I think I did a half-decent job (hopefully). It’s ironic really, the whole reason Eighteen doesn’t want to go back to the life they had before is to save her brother’s life. At the same time, she refuses to help fix him, knowing he’s too dangerous to be trusted.   
The next chapter we’ll be returning to our protagonists as I’m eager to write from Gohan and Eighteen’s perspectives once more. Hopefully, you guys are still looking forward to it ;). 
> 
> Unfortunately, due to personal struggles Ben Thryss was unavailable to clean this chapter up past the initial section. I hope this didn’t impact the chapter too negatively, and I wish Ben the very best moving forward. It’s a difficult time for the man now, so everyone wish him your best.
> 
> As always, I’ll do my best to answer each and every comment, although it may take some time to reach you. Seriously, you guys blew it out of the water with the last chapter, and I couldn’t be happier lol. This chapter isn’t quite as long, but I think 28 pages is still pretty sizable. Hopefully, the reviews will be mostly positive this time as well.
> 
> Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> And that’s all folks! If you’ve made it this far then it’s likely that you enjoyed what I wrote. Please drop a review and tell me what you thought. It’s a staple of my work that I respond to each and every review I receive via PM, so if you’d like to talk to me about what went into this, please review!  
Until next time!


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